Right to Buy extension confirmed in Queen's Speech

At the opening of Parliament today, the Queen's Speech confirmed the new Housing Bill which will give 1.3million housing association tenants the right to buy their homes while requiring councils to sell off high-value properties and invest the proceeds into building affordable ones.

Related topics:  Property
Amy Loddington
27th May 2015
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The government said the measures, announced in the Queen's Speech to Parliament today, would prevent Britain becoming a 'two-speed country' where only some could afford to buy a property.

The Queen said:

"Legislation will be introduced to support home ownership and give housing association tenants the chance to own their own home."

Stephen Johnson, Managing Director, Commercial Mortgages, Shawbrook Bank, said:
 
"How will government pledges such as the extension of Right to Buy to tenants in Housing Associations a?ect the rental sector?
 
“We welcome any moves that will help to ease the restricted housing supply this country faces, and the government’s pledges on house building are a step in the right direction. However, these numbers alone will not ?ll the gap and the private rental sector remains the driving force behind the UK’s property market. This makes it more important than ever to have rental housing that is ?t for purpose.
 
“Among our own clients we are seeing moves to meet the growing needs of the private rental sector, often through refurbishment, expanding existing properties, or converting properties into houses of multiple occupancy.
 
“We see the move to extend the Right to Buy scheme as part of a wider decline in the supply of social housing available to tenants. By encouraging tenants of Housing Associations to buy their homes, the government is increasing the reliance of remaining social tenants on availability within the private rental sector. Demand for the private rental sector is therefore the catalyst for the growth of the housing market moving forward.”
 
“We expect the property sector to return to the upwards trend of the last few years. It remains to be seen exactly how manifesto pledges such as increased house building and Right to Buy will play out and the impact they will have on the market. We anticipate that the private rental sector will fall under continued government scrutiny, but at the moment the signs are once again positive for the UK’s property market.”

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