A flurry of requests from people wanting the right to buy their council homes has been made in East Devon. A total of 49 new applications were made last November, in the week ahead of changes in chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget,
A flurry of requests from people wanting the right to buy their council homes has been made in East Devon.
A total of 49 new applications were made last November, in the week ahead of changes in chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget,
She announced that discounts were set to become less generous for social housing tenants purchasing their properties.
This week East Devon District Council’s asset management forum heard that the housing team had been “massively busy” because of a sudden increase in right-to-buy valuations towards the end of last year.
The 49 applications compares to 33 for the whole of 2023 and 35 for last year up to 18 November, according to figures requested by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
So far, three tenants have completed their purchase, while the others are progressing through the process, according to a council spokesperson.
Changes announced in the budget also mean that local authorities get to keep all the proceeds from council house sales, rather than having to pay some to central government, as had been the policy previously.
The rush by council house tenants to try and buy their properties came as potential discounts were set to become less generous. Discounts are given in lieu of the fact tenants had been paying rent on the properties.
The maximum discount for the south west now is £30,000, but people who applied before 21 November could receive up to £102,400 off.
At present, tenants in houses get a 35 per cent discount if they have been a public sector tenant for between three to five years, subsequently rising one per cent a year up to the maximum.
The allowance for flats is 50 per cent for people who have been tenants for three to five years, rising two per cent a year.
However, a consultation about the issue concluded in January and could mean the scheme becomes even less generous and more restrictive.
Changes could include tenants having to live in their properties for longer before being eligible to buy, and some or all of the discount may need to be repaid if the property is sold again within 10 years, compared to five years now.
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