Tory housing policy out to consultation

A paper of proposals, The Right to Own is out to consultation with the housing sector until 8 September. The policy will be launched later in the autumn.

The Tories plan to give all social housing tenants a right to shared ownership and extend the right to buy to 1 million association tenants (HT 30 July, page 12).

Other proposals include cutting the number of empty homes by encouraging homeowners to make vacant properties available for rent, and building more houses and fewer commercial facilities on brownfield sites.

Merron Simpson, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “It’s old Tory thinking in that it’s promoting homeownership rather than building enough social housing to meet demand.”