Although good news for council tenants seeking to buy
Hounslow Council is warning that changes to the Right to Buy scheme could cut the number of homes available to those who need them most.
The changes, announced last week, will significantly increase the discounts available for two million social tenants in England to up to £75,000.
Cllr Steve Curran, cabinet member for housing and education, said:
“We have a desperate shortage of social housing in the borough, and we believe these changes could undermine the progress we are making in addressing the problem.
“Selling off valuable social homes with a large discount - and only returning a proportion of the proceeds - could mean we won’t have enough money to replace these much-needed homes on a like-for-like basis.
“To avoid this, we would need to borrow money to make up the difference, saddling us with debt for years to come, which in turn means less funding would be available to build new units.”
Hounslow currently has 12,169 people on its waiting list for a home. The council has 13,400 social housing properties, managed by Hounslow Homes, and is on track to see 2,500 new affordable homes built in the borough by 2014.
March 19, 2012