A member of the tenants’ union Acorn has accused landlords of being “subsidised” by public money.

In a post on the social media site X, the union’s head organiser Nick Ballard claimed that 40% of council houses sold through Right To Buy are now owned by landlords.

He added that ‘very few” of the former council homes bought through the scheme have ever been replaced.

Right to Buy is active in England and Northern Ireland, and allows council tenants to buy their homes at a discount. The discounts available vary depending on a variety of factors, including the type of property and its location. The maximum discount available to council tenants can be as much as 70% of the value of the property.

Nick Ballard described Right to Buy as a “disaster”, explaining: “Housing still costs the state money, it’s just this public money now subsidises private landlords."

Right to Buy

Last year, Angela Rayner said in Parliament that during the previous five years there has been an average of 9,000 council Right to Buy sales each year, but only 5,000 replacements built annually.

Rayner said at that time that she would review the discounts given to those buying via Right to Buy and also look ‘more widely’ at eligibility criteria and ‘protections for new homes’.

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