Fewer Luton council homes sold off under Right to Buy rules.
According to fresh numbers, fewer former council homes in Luton were sold under the Right to Buy initiative last year.
The president of PropertyMark, an estate agency association, stated that the government must encourage responsible landlords or risk “making it even more difficult for people to secure and afford a home.”
After three years of living in a government home, tenants have the option to purchase it, with many councils investing the revenues in new social housing.
According to new numbers issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, 33 Right to Buy sales occurred in Luton during the fiscal year ending March 31. Across England, local authorities recorded 7,287 sales, a 5% increase over 2023-24.
From the inception of the Right to Buy scheme in 1980 until March 2025, there have been almost two million sales to tenants. Current localised numbers for 2021-22 show a total of 234 sales in Luton.
These sales generated £4 million in the fiscal year ending March 31, while Right to Buy transactions generated £29 million for the authority since 2021-22.
According to the numbers, nine new social dwelling starts and acquisitions were documented in Luton in the fiscal year ending in March, up from seven the previous year.
Across England, 3,593 new social homes were purchased or developed in 2024-25 with proceeds from Right to Buy sales, a 4% increase over 2023-24.
Alistair Smyth, director of strategy and research at the National Housing Federation, stated, “Right to Buy has resulted in the loss of over two million social homes since its inception, and as these figures show, we continue to lose more social homes than we can replace as a result of the policy.”
“While a small increase in homes being replaced in some instances is welcome, it still falls short of what is needed to meet demand.”
The government has stated that it will increase the minimum tenancy required to be eligible for the plan from three to ten years and exempt newly built social and affordable houses for 35 years.
A representative of the MHCLG stated: “Too many social homes have been sold off before being replaced which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory.”
That is why we are making Right to Buy more equitable by lowering discounts and raising the minimum tenancy required to be eligible.”
This will ensure councils protect and increase their housing stock while keeping the pathway open for longstanding tenants to buy their own homes.”
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