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Labour must abolish the right to buy
MARTIN WICKS argues that the government’s reduced discounts for council house purchases don’t go far enough, and we need to be calling for the complete abolition of this regressive Thatcherite policy
HOUSING CRISIS: Campaigners protesting the destruction of council housing in London protest outside City Hall, 2015
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THE government has introduced a Statutory Instrument in Parliament to cut the discount for tenants when they buy a home through right to buy (RTB).
Discounts were increased by the Tories in 2012. Maximum discounts are currently £136,400 in London and £102,400 elsewhere. The discounts will be returned to pre-2012 levels; from £16,000 to £38,000, depending on the region you live in (see table below). These reduced discounts will be applied from November 21.
Current restrictions mean that councils can only cover 40 per cent of the cost of a new build home with RTB receipts, and cannot combine them with money from section 106 agreements, in which developers make contributions for “affordable housing.” The government is ending these restrictions, so it is effectively up to councils how they use receipts.
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Above-inflation rent increases will push council tenants deeper into poverty while failing to address the housing crisis — and it won’t really raise any money, as council rent arrears are doubling across the country, argues MARTIN WICKS
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