A council hoping to be exempt from restrictions on the discounts offered on right-to-buy sales has failed to secure the backing of its largest local housing association.
Spelthorne council, in Surrey, stated its opposition last week to government plans that would see tenants' right-to-buy discount cut from £38,000 to £16,000 in 42 council areas, including Spelthorne's, from March (HT 30 January, page 9).

The council said it would lobby the government for an exemption and appealed for Apex Housing Group, which took over Spelthorne's 3400 homes in 1996, to support its appeal.

But on Tuesday, following consultation with its governing board, Apex confirmed that it would not seek to be excluded from the plans. This means tenants who transferred to Apex from the council and retained their right to buy could now see their maximum discount reduced to £16,000.

Apex Group chief executive Alan Walker said: "We support the principle of the right to buy and the desire of tenants to become homeowners, but we also recognise that the loss of housing stock in part reduces our ability to provide affordable housing."

Meanwhile, on the eve of its own formal application for exemption, Wandsworth council said the government's plans are contrary to its promises of extra freedom for high-performing councils.

The south-west London authority, which was rated "excellent" following its comprehensive spending assessment last December, said the planned changes to the right to buy would effectively end the scheme in London. All but three London boroughs – Greenwich, Havering and Barking & Dagenham – are on the list of authorities to have their discounts slashed.

Source

Housing Today