Call for Sheffield Council to be allowed to scrap the right for tenants to buy their homes

The issue was discussed at a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s finance and performance policy committee yesterday (September 23). Councillors approved drawdowns of money from the council’s stock increase programme funds to build or buy council homes at Newstead, Bolehill View and Corker Bottoms.

In total, spending of £40.24m was agreed to add 160 houses and flats to the council’s housing stock.

The right to buy scheme was introduced by the Thatcher government in 1980. It passed legislation giving council tenants the right to buy their homes at a discount price.

Tenants in Sheffield can apply to buy their homes after three years and the discount depends on how long they have been tenants in their current home. The maximum discount is £102,400 and tenants must pay back at least part of their discount if they sell up within five years.

Devolved governments in Scotland and Wales have already taken away the right to buy in their countries.

Clear

The lack of new council homes being built over several decades has added to long waiting lists and the right to buy has put further pressure on the system.

Coun Shaffaq Mohammed said: “Now we’ve got a new government we might as this council make our position clear where we stand on right to buy, in terms of being able to end it if we want to.”

Coun Martin Phipps added: “I totally agree – let’s get rid of the right to buy.”

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Council finance manager Damian Watkinson said that a meeting on the future of council housing had been chaired by Southwark Council in London and the council was represented in that discussion.

Coun Mohammed questioned the cost of £20.63m to build a total of 77 homes at Newstead in Birley. This includes six two-bedroom houses, 24 three-bedroom houses and 11 four-beds, plus 26 one-bed and 10 two-bed apartments.

He said that the cost appeared to be more than £100,000 more than their market value and asked whether they have achieved the highest possible energy ratings.

Problems

Mr Watkinson said that the site had presented structural problems and a private builder would not consider it but the council has to use available sites.

The committee also agreed to an £8.39m budget to build 36 one-bedroom flats at Bolehill View, Crookes.

Both projects will use capital from the sales of council homes. Building work on both schemes is expected to be completed in 2026.

The council is also seeking to acquire all 47 two, three and four-bedroom houses being built by Sheffield Housing Company at Corker Bottoms on the Manor. This will cost £11.22m in total, including fees.

The cost of the project has gone up and the council has been in discussions with the company for the past two years. Homes England also intervened after a purchase price of £8.99m was agreed, saying it was below market value, and the cost is now expected to be £10.37m.

The council will retain 35 of the homes for rental and offer the remaining 12 for a shared ownership scheme, where part of the house is purchased and the other part belongs to the council and rent is paid on that proportion.

This enables more people to get on the property ladder.