New threat to social homes
13 February 2007
A statement from Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has raised fears that the number of social homes in the UK - council houses and tenants association properties - could be under renewed threat.
The Communities Secretary says consideration is being given to proposals that would allow social housing tenants the opportunity to get on the property ladder by buying a smaller stake in their home than at present - stumping up 10 per cent of the value instead of the current 25 per cent.
She told the Today programme that this would help close the gap between people who are aided by their parents to buy their first home and those who are not.
But Shelter's chief executive Adam Sampson said: 'We're talking about something that is at best irrelevant to the housing crisis and at worst could exacerbate it.
'Helping poorer people share in the nation's wealth is welcome - but this measure will only help around five per cent of current social tenants.'
At present, more than half of social housing tenants have an annual income of less than £10,000.
Since the introduction of the Right to Buy scheme in 1980, more than 1,700,000 homes have been sold off. But between 1980 and 2005 only 790,342 new social rented homes were built.
Mr Sampson called for a commitment to reinvest any money raised in new social housing. 'Unless the money raised by this scheme is ploughed back into building desperately needed new social homes, it will only serve to exacerbate the existing crisis.'
Today almost 94,000 homeless households - including almost 130,000 children - are trapped in temporary accommodation with nowhere permanent to call home.
Homelessness is estimated to cost between £700 million and £1 billion each year in extra housing costs and wider public costs such as welfare benefits, health, crime and education.
To address these problems, 'Significant investment in increasing the supply of new social housing must be the government's first priority,' Mr Sampson declared.
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