The extension to Mrs Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme – controversial at the time – promises to be one of the first big controversies of the new Conservative government.
Up to now it was only council tenants who had the right to buy the homes they had previously rented. But when the Housing Bill becomes law – as outlined in the Queen’s speech – housing association tenants will acquire that same right.
As a scheme already rejected by the Scottish and Welsh governments, who wish to preserve publicly-owned housing stock, it is also emblematic of the different directions being taken by different parts of the United Kingdom. Read full piece here
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