Mark Langabeer, Hastings and Rye Labour member, looks at a documentary on the catastrophic consequences of the “Right-to-Buy” policy. The programme is available on BBC i-player, here.
Panorama‘s reporter, Richard Bilton, this time travelled to the Bampton Estate, in the Borough of Lewisham in South East London. It was built to replace slums during the 1960s and residents regarded ‘the Bampton’ as a nice place to live. It was owned and run by the council and in 1979, a third of all homes in the country were council owned.
But then we had the election of Thatcher and the Tories, with a policy to give all council tenants the right to buy, with discounts on the price of the property. Although it proved to be a popular policy, with tenants effectively being given a huge amount of money at public expense, Bilton suggests (correctly, in my opinion), that this is the reason for today’s housing crisis.
He points out that 2.8 m council houses were sold under right-to-buy in England and Wales, but he also points out that now, 40% of those homes are owned by private landlords. In addition, housing estates like the Bampton have become fragmented. In 2010, much of the remaining houses in this area were transferred to a housing association and only the flats remained in council ownership.
Exploitation
Panorama states that as housing associations are not-for-profit-based organisations that were rooted in local communities, it was argued that they would be similar in meeting local needs. But as one contributor stated, they have become large, distant organisations that own many homes across Britain. Council tenants had better security of tenure and usually paid less in rent. The programme revealed the kind of exploitation that has develop in the private rented sector.
Bilton spoke to a former resident who bought her home for £15,000 in 1984. She sold it and it has been converted into six bedsits. The monthly rental was £960 per person. Visibly upset, the former occupant felt that this didn’t represent progress. In my opinion, it’s an example of the profiteering which has been the consequence of Tory policies.
He interviewed another couple who bought their flat for £53,000 in 2003. They are still liable for refurbishment costs on the whole block. They are senior citizens with health conditions who were sent a bill for £27,000. They have been offered an instalment payment plan with no interest costs. Despite this, they may have to sell because the cost of repayments. The ‘Right to Buy’ hasn’t been the godsend its supporters claim.
Labour must introduce rent controls and massive investment in public housing provision as part of a transformative socialist programme at the next general election.
