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Buy back of Right to Buy properties
Published: 12/01/2017
A report for a new policy setting out the council鈥檚 approach to buying back
ex-council properties will be considered by 天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet
when it next meets later this month. The report was recommended for approval
by the Community & Enterprise Scrutiny and Overview Committee in December.
To date, the council has chosen not to take up the option of purchasing any
previously owned properties. However, the council has applied to Welsh
Government to suspend the Right to Buy and it is planning to build
approximately 200 new council homes over the next five years. Buying back
former council properties fits with this strategy and it could help to
regenerate estates and meet local need.
Councillor Aaron Shotton, Leader of the Council, said:
鈥淚t is well known that there is a shortage of affordable housing across the UK.
天涯社区鈥檚 strategy to build new council homes, the first in a
generation, fits well with our proposal to suspend the Right to Buy scheme. A
further step to provide more affordable housing would be to bring houses which
were previously council owned back into our housing stock. This will provide
more affordable housing for the residents of 天涯社区 and provide income to
the Council by way of rent.
This situation would only arise if the current owner decided to sell. If the
property has been sold since 18 January 2005, the owner is required to offer to
sell it to the council for up to 10 years from the date of purchase and can
only sell on the open market should the council not wish to purchase. The
council is also free to purchase any property for sale on the open market,
should it meet the council鈥檚 policy.
Each property would be considered on a case by case basis, a major factor of
which would be the identification of available funds in the business plan.