Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Bye bye Right to Buy

November 12 2009
Sale of social housing to end in 2010 A quarter of Scottish households lives in social housing - that's over 600,000 households across the country. Since its introduction 30 years ago, the Right to Buy has resulted in the discounted sale of almost half a million of those homes for rent in Scotland. But now new legislation means Right To Buy for new and returning tenants entering the social rented sector will end in 2010, although existing tenants will not be affected. Over a 10-year period it is estimated the Right To Buy reforms will retain up to 18,000 properties in the social housing sector that otherwise would be sold off. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "Home ownership is a laudable ambition. It is an aspiration this government supports and through our investment in shared equity, we are helping more than 1,500 people get a foot on the housing ladder this year. But we also have a responsibility to provide homes for those who want to rent or cannot afford to buy. The credit crunch and the recession have reminded us just how important that duty is. "But building new homes for rent is pointless if we then simply sell them off under the Right to Buy. That is why I believe the Right to Buy has had its day. Over the next decade our proposals will safeguard up to 18,000 houses for future generations. We are working hard to reverse decades of decline in council house building. This year, our £26 million investment will enable work to start on 1,300 new homes across Scotland, the first by central government in 30 years."
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