A report from Common Wealth claimed councils need a stronger “Right to Buy Back” with 41% of the 2.4 million homes sold under Right to Buy now in the hands of private landlords
New powers for councils are required to stop private landlords buying up social housing, a think tank has warned.
A report from Common Wealth claimed councils need a stronger “Right to Buy Back” to rebuild the amount of council housing, with 41% of the 2.4 million homes sold under Right to Buy now in the hands of private landlords.
They say councils should be given resources and powers to buy-back housing stock to increase the supply of council homes, and increase supply of social rent housing now.
This would mean expanded “right of first refusal” powers for all ex-social homes and private rental homes up for sale, to increase council’s bargaining power when purchasing homes for council housing. It would also see a duty for councils to rebuild their housing stock, including through purchasing properties for council housing.
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The idea is already being employed on a smaller scale elsewhere, with Barcelona acquiring 1,500 homes through “right of first refusal” powers since 2016, often at below market value. These powers allow the city to automatically be the preferred buyer when a property goes on the market, and the acquisitions represent over a fifth of new affordable homes in the city.
In London, councils purchased 1,500 homes in the first year of its ‘Right to Buy Back’ scheme, with a focus on ex-council properties. In 2024, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) projected the programme would make a net saving to the taxpayer within 16 years.
Kwajo Tweneboa, social housing campaigner, said: “Homes that were once publicly owned are now profit-generating assets for private landlords. That’s the legacy of Right to Buy.
Reversing that damage isn’t just a nice idea. It’s essential.
“This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about giving people dignity, stability and a decent place to call home.”
The government has pledged “the biggest increase in social housebuilding for a generation”, but the highpoint for social housing completions in the last thirty years was just 38,170 in 2023/24.
In July, the government unveiled a target for at least 180,000 social rent homes over a decade, but Shelter have called for 90,000 social rent homes a year, while the London Renters’ Union are asking for 155,000 council homes a year.
Adam Peggs, report author and housing expert at Common Wealth, said: “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.
“Every day of delay is another day families languish in squalid temporary accommodation.
The government has the tools to turn this emergency around — and more quickly than they might admit — they just need to use them.”
Mairi MacRae, Director of Campaigns and Policy at Shelter, warned there were 1.3 million people trapped on social housing waiting lists with nowhere else to turn.She said: “Thousands more families are trapped in damaging temporary accommodation as a direct result, ripping apart the very fabric of our communities. Many of them will have their hopes for security and stability worn down as they are shunted between grim hotels and B&Bs, where families are crammed like sardines into tiny studios and children are forced to share beds with their siblings as black mould climbs the walls.“Councils must use every resource at their disposal, from buying back homes to building new ones, but the only lasting solution to the housing emergency is to deliver an entirely new generation of social homes.”
Responding, a Housing spokesperson said: “We do not recognise these figures. We know however that too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory.
“That’s why we have introduced Right to Buy reforms to reverse the decline in much needed council housing, alongside investing £39 billion to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.”
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