18 October 2002
The council wants to suspend the sale of council houses to its tenants because high demand coupled with low interest rates has led to a housing crisis in the city. The Welsh Assembly refused, on the grounds that it lacked the primary powers to allow this.
The council has sold around half of its 29,000 homes since the 1981 Housing Act came into effect.
A council spokesman said: 'We're not really able to meet need. Our housing stock has been completely skewed by right to buy.'
The council's figures show that it is losing 400 homes annually due to tenants buying properties. Only 160–175 are developed each year by the council and registered social landlords.
The spokesman added that Cardiff had special circumstances that should be taken into account. 'We are by far the biggest city in Wales and the fastest growing capital city in Europe. There are a lot of reasons for people wanting to move here. As a result, prices have gone through the roof.'
PFoct2002
