England will sell off more than eight times as many council homes in 2025-26 as were constructed the previous year, research has found.<\/p>\n
Right to buy is depleting council housing stock more quickly than public housing can be replaced, forcing people to spend more money on private market rents and obtain less secure tenancies, a report from the thinktank Common Wealth finds.<\/p>\n
Its analysis of government data in England found that 38,170 social homes and 2,850 council homes were constructed by the government in 2023-24. In 2024-25, 2,260 council homes were built. There were 13,966 sell-offs of council houses through right to buy in 2023-24 and 8,656 in 2024-25. An analysis in the i Paper estimated that 18,500 council homes will be sold off in 2025-26 \u2013 more than eight times more than the number built in 2024-25.<\/p>\n
The report concludes that if the government wants to increase the supply of social rental housing quickly, it must invest in buying back and restoring homes sold off under right to buy, alongside more council housebuilding.<\/p>\n
Adam Peggs, the report\u2019s author, said: \u201cWe need to pull every effective lever we can find to expand public housing. Council housing gave people secure, low-cost homes in the past. With the right framework, it can give people high-quality, genuinely affordable homes, with real democratic voice in the future too. But we need to build the political will to make it happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day of delay is another day families languish in squalid temporary accommodation. The government has the tools to turn this emergency around \u2013 and more quickly than they might admit \u2013 they just need to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report, which is published on Thursday, is also calling for expanded \u201cright of first refusal\u201d powers, enabling local authorities to be the preferred buyer when ex-social homes and private rental homes enter the market.<\/p>\n
Since 1980, 2.4m council homes have been sold off under right to buy, at a discount that Common Wealth calculated was valued at \u00a3194bn, accounting for house price appreciation, with 41%<\/a> now belonging to private landlords. As a result, council homes have collapsed from accommodating about 30% of households in the late 1970s to 6% today, a decline of about 80%.<\/p>\n Common Wealth\u2019s report analysed council buy-ups of existing homes for public and social housing in seven countries, and determined that funding and incentivising a national right to buy back scheme would be a cost-effective policy in the UK.<\/p>\n The Spanish government has granted powers for a right of first refusal to the country\u2019s new national public housing company after Barcelona acquired 1,500 homes \u2013 more than one-fifth of new affordable homes in the city \u2013 through right of first refusal powers since 2016, often below their market value.<\/p>\n The report also recommends a national rollout of a London scheme, in which the Greater London Authority bought 1,500 mostly ex-council homes in the first year of its right to buy back scheme. The New Economics Foundation calculated that this would generate a net saving to the taxpayer within 16 years.<\/p>\n A 2024 report<\/a> from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation concluded that buyouts would offer better value for public money, rather than paying housing benefit to private landlords or private temporary accommodation.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Kwajo Tweneboa, a social housing campaigner and the author of Our Country in Crisis, said: \u201cHomes that were once publicly owned are now profit-generating assets for private landlords. That\u2019s the legacy of right to buy. Reversing that damage isn\u2019t just a nice idea. It\u2019s essential.<\/p>\n \u201cBuying back ex-council homes and investing in a new generation of high-quality, genuinely affordable council homes must be the backbone of any serious plan to fix this crisis. That means central government stepping up with proper funding and power \u2013 not just warm words and weak targets.\u201d<\/p>\n