Westminster Council is the latest London council to announce it is to set aside millions of pounds to buy back council homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme.
Social housing publisher 24 Dash.com reports that Westminster is to set aside £20 million to re-buy former council homes, which come back onto the market.
Islington Council in north London recently announced that it would also be buying back former council homes sold under Right to Buy if they come on to the market at affordable prices. Islington Council is hoping to be able to buy back 30 council homes at a cost of £8m.
Westminster Council is buying 45 former council flats sold off under Right to Buy and will refurbish them for new council tenants.
A spokesman said the average cost of each flat is £419,000 and around £36,000 will be spent on refurbishments to each property.
Labour councillors at the Conservative-run Westminster Council say the flats would have been sold to former council tenants for below £100,000.
Leader of the Labour Group at Westminster Council, Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, said:
“This is the ultimate proof that Conservative housing policies have failed and are financial madness.
“Spending over £20 million of public money buying back properties that were sold for a fraction of that amount demonstrates the scale of the housing crisis in Westminster – and the folly of selling off so many council properties without building any replacement council flats.
“Spending the £20 million on buying back former council flats does not increase the housing stock in Westminster.
“Instead, the £20 million should be spent on building new council flats on council-owned land, so that we can both increase the number of homes and build new homes for those in housing need.”
Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors
Duncan Lewis housing solicitors can advise social housing tenants on a wide range of housing matters, including allocation of Local Authority housing, including allocation to homeless persons under Section 193 of the Housing Act 1996.
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