L

Lord Best (CB)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 21 October 2024

Debate

Social Housebuilding

Contribution

My Lords, I congratulate the Government on the priority it is giving to new housebuilding for social rent, but we are still losing more homes each year than we are building, mostly because of right to buy. Some 2 million homes have been sold so far and 40% are now in the hands of private landlords, who are letting homes at rents two or three times higher than at which they would have been let as council properties. Would the Minister accept either or both recommendations from the Devon Housing Commission, which I have been chairing? The first is that the level of discount should be set by the local authority and not at the national level, where 70% discounts are available, which is not good value for the taxpayer. The second is around whether 100% of the proceeds from sales of right to buy should be allocated to new housing that replaces that which has been lost.

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