The leader of Newcastle City Council has branded the Government's right to buy policy as "evil" and says it threatens the availability of housing in the city.
Right to buy was first introduced by Margaret Thatcher's Government and allows council tenants a chance to buy their own home at a discounted rate. However, it has long faced criticism due to the fact that the houses sold are not replaced, meaning there is less social housing for other families.
At Thursday's meeting of the city council's overview and scrutiny committee, Coun Doreen Huddart told leader Nick Kemp - appearing at before the committee for the first time as leader - she was concerned about the council's social housing stock due to Right to Buy.
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Coun Kemp replied: "It is an evil policy that destroys the fabric of a lot of communities. There is an increasing call from the Local Government Association to put an end to it. It is a huge pressure on us.
"It is part of the city's housing strategy is trying to build what the city wants, rather than what developers want to do."
The Government has recently announced that the Right to Buy scheme will be extended to housing association tenants, which due criticism from the Local Government Association. There are fears local authorities will not be able to keep pace to replace the homes that are sold.
Coun David Renard, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, acknowledged that the Right to Buy scheme provided a useful way to get on the property ladder - but added that the funding needs to go into council coffers, rather than back to central government.
He said: "Owning your own home is an important step for many people, and an extension of the Right to Buy scheme to housing associations tenants could enable many more to get on the housing ladder.
“However, measures that support home-ownership should not lead to any reduction in the overall number of affordable social rented homes. Any houses sold must be replaced quickly, in the same local authority area and on a like for like basis. Equally, the cost of discounts must not be funded from the sale of council housing stock, nor be met from existing government funding commitments for delivery of additional affordable homes.
“The Right to Buy scheme for council tenants also needs urgent reform and councils need to be able to keep 100 per cent of receipts and set discounts locally. The number of new council homes being built is not able to keep pace with those sold under Right to Buy, and the discounts available, along with the funds that have to be returned to Treasury, are leaving councils with less and less resources to catch up.
“With over 1.1 million households currently on social housing waiting lists, any loss of social rented housing would risk pushing more families into the private rented sector, as well as driving up housing benefit spending and rents and exacerbating our homelessness crisis at a time of an escalating cost of living crisis. We need to be urgently increasing, not reducing the supply of affordable social homes.”
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