Newcastle aided by Right to Buy shakeup

Newcastle City Council have welcomed news that Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, plans to shake up the Right to Buy social housing scheme.

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00:00With over 8,000 active social housing applications on the waiting list,

00:03Newcastle City Council has been lobbying the government for additional assistance

00:06with the Right to Buy scheme for a while now.

00:08Well, their prayers may have finally been answered as Deputy Prime Minister Angela

00:12Rayner has promised to shake up the current system to tackle the country's housing crisis.

00:16The systemic problems appear far worse in the north-east than in other areas of the country.

00:20The Shelter conducted research that showed that between 2022 and 2023,

00:23the number of households on the social housing waiting list across the north-east jumped by 51%.

00:27To put that into context, the next biggest increase was in the north-west with just 8%.

00:32Labour councillor Paula Maynes, the council's cabinet member for housing,

00:35stated that a fairer Right to Buy will help councils like Newcastle to protect the housing

00:39stock while continuing to give residents the opportunity to get onto the housing ladder.

00:43She added,

00:44People are at the heart of everything we do,

00:45and the proposed changes are a step in the right direction to help us meet the needs of our

00:48residents. Changes that have been put forward include increasing the current three-year

00:52eligibility period, after which tenants can apply to the Right to Buy scheme,

00:56and ensuring council homes are replaced on a one-for-one basis when sold off.