Safeguarding our homes for the future

Cardiff Council Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, has welcomed news that the authority's application to suspend the Right to Buy has been approved by Welsh Government.

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant, has given the go ahead for Cardiff to halt the scheme, which allowed most Council tenants who lived in their homes for five years the opportunity to buy the property and receive a discount of up to £8,000 on its value.

From 19 July 2017, the Right to Buy scheme will be suspended in Cardiff for a period of five years.

Cllr Thorne said: "I am very pleased that Welsh Government has granted the Council permission to suspend the Right to Buy scheme in Cardiff for five years. Local authorities are able to do this in areas of housing pressure and that is certainly the case in Cardiff.

"Cardiff is one of the UK's fastest growing cities and with over 8,000 people currently on the waiting list for social housing, we have to do everything we can to ensure we are providing good quality housing for those most in need, both now and into the future.

"In 1985, the Council had 23,000 properties but largely through the right to buy, that figure has reduced to our current stock in the region of 13,400 properties. This decision enables us to safeguard our much needed housing provision for current and future generations."

With a very high level of housing need for all types of accommodation in the city, and around 8,300 applicants on the common housing waiting list for social housing - 4,600 of whom are in significant housing need, the Council and its Housing Association partners are constantly seeking to increase the supply of affordable housing available.

Councillor Thorne added: "We are committed to delivering 1,000 affordable council homes over the next five years through our Cardiff Living scheme and other innovative solutions. This decision to suspend the Right to Buy will help protect existing council homes and help us achieve a real increase in much-needed quality, affordable housing."