Right to buy has been a disaster for social housing, says minister

13 Jul 09
The right to buy policy has left Scotland with a ‘dreadful legacy’ in terms of low-cost homes for rent, housing minister Alex Neil has said
By David Scott

13 July 2009

The right to buy policy has left Scotland with a ‘dreadful legacy’ in terms of low-cost homes for rent, housing minister Alex Neil has said.

His comments followed publication of a Shelter report showing that the number of housing association and council homes was at its lowest for 50 years.

Neil said almost 450,000 homes for social rent were sold at a discount in Scotland under right to buy between 1980 and 2005.

He added: ‘This government agrees with Shelter that right to buy has been a disaster for the provision of low-cost social housing for rent. It has acted as a disincentive to construct replacement properties and Scotland has been left with a dreadful legacy.’

Neil said ministers intended, through the draft Housing (Scotland) Bill, to make sure the mistakes of the past were ‘dispatched to history, safeguarding social rented housing for future generations’.

But Scottish Conservative housing spokesman Jamie McGrigor attacked Neil for blaming the decline in social housing on the policy the Tories introduced.

He said: ‘Right to buy was the most significant, socially liberating policy ever introduced by any government. It has given thousands of Scots the opportunity to improve their standard of living and certainly does not affect the number of homes available.’

Shelter Scotland said its report, Building pressure: access to housing in Scotland in 2009, laid bare the ‘growing chasm’ between the number of houses needed and the number available.

It claimed the number of council homes available had fallen dramatically and that at current rates it would take almost seven years to find a home for those already on housing waiting lists.

According to the survey, the number of people in temporary accommodation soared by 135% between 2001 and 2008.

The charity is calling for a commitment from the Scottish Government to fund 30,000 affordable rented homes by 2012, the deadline for homelessness legislation that aims to house everyone in need of a home.

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