The move – due to be unveiled yesterday in London at the launch of the taskforce's long-awaited report – applies to both council and housing association tenants. It would be known as the "right to shared ownership".
The news comes two months after the Liberal Democrats called for the government to allow tenants the "right to invest" in their homes, and a year after the Conservatives pledged to extend the right to buy to housing associations. The Labour Party's 2001 manifesto also included a commitment to explore "equity stakes" – where landlords allow tenants a stake in their homes to reward good behaviour.
There are no indications of the level of stake they could buy.
The report, seen in advance by Housing Today, puts forward 45 recommendations on the future of homeownership for people on modest incomes, including a reform package to streamline existing schemes.
The announcement will complete a week of action by the government to boost the housing supply. It has outlined its intention to proceed with paying social housing grant to developers. It has also revived the idea of allowing developers to pay a tariff instead of building social housing to get planning permission.
A well-placed source said: "If the government heeds these recommendations, then it will look remarkably like the Conservative policy towards homeownership.
"In the long run the government will have to increase the supply of rented housing to counter the loss of stock," he added.
The taskforce – chaired by Housing Corporation chair Baroness Dean – also proposes that associations running low-cost homeownership schemes should "recycle" surpluses into shared ownership housing.
Associations use these surpluses – generated when tenants purchase larger stakes in their homes – to fund projects such as meeting the decent homes standard.
John Barker, chief executive of Moat – the biggest provider of shared-ownership homes in the South-east with more than 4000 properties – slammed the idea.
"This is nonsensical. It is an outrageous attack on the sector's independence, crucial to respond in areas that associations are also required to cover, such as refurbishing housing," she said.
"The taskforce has not thought through the impact. We will work to ensure the ODPM understands what this proposal would mean and why it should never do it."
The taskforce also proposes the government harmonises discount rates available to tenants under the right to buy.
Presently 41 councils – mostly in London – have powers to reduce the discount available to tenants who wish to purchase their homes.
Source
Housing Today
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