It was billed as a revolution — a chance for working families to own their own home, to stake a claim in Margaret Thatcher’s “property-owning democracy.”
But more than four decades on, right to buy has become one of the most destructive policies in British housing history.
A damning new report by the Common Wealth thinktank lays bare the staggering cost of the scheme: a £200 billion hole in public finances, a gutted social housing stock, and a legacy of deepening inequality.
What was sold to the public as empowerment has turned out to be a decades-long asset giveaway — and now, taxpayers are paying the price.
One in six private renters now live in former council houses
Since 1980, 1.9 million council homes in England have been sold off — most at heavily discounted prices.
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On average, homes were sold for 43 per cent below market value.
Today, many of those properties are owned by private landlords, with one in six private renters living in what used to be public housing.
The cost to the public isn’t just historical.
Local authorities, now stripped of these housing assets, are being forced to spend more than £20 billion a year on housing benefit, often to rent back the very homes they once owned.
The result is a grotesque loop in which public funds sustain private profit while people in need are left in temporary accommodation.
From social safety net to speculative market
The Common Wealth report describes right to buy as “one of the largest giveaways in UK history,” with £194 billion in public value handed to private buyers.
The market value of those homes today stands at an estimated £430 billion while, across the country, social housing waiting lists grow, temporary housing costs skyrocket, and home ownership rates for young people have collapsed.
In 1990, more than half of 25- to 34-year-olds owned their own home.
Now, fewer than a quarter do.
Property wealth has been hoarded by older generations, while younger and poorer Britons are trapped in a precarious, profiteering rental market.
Labour’s pledge falls short
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has announced plans to tighten eligibility for right to buy, extending the qualifying period from three to ten years.
It’s a step in the right direction — but it does little to address the long-term fallout.
Labour’s broader housing plan includes £39 billion for new social and affordable housing over the next decade and a target of 1.5 million new homes.
But as the Centre for Cities has reported, restoring social housing to 2010 levels alone would cost £50 billion.
The scale of the crisis demands more than cautious reforms.
It requires a bold reversal of policy.
What must be done?
Suspend Right to Buy: Scotland and Wales have already scrapped the scheme. England should follow immediately, particularly in areas where housing need is most acute.
Reclaim Public Assets: Councils must be given the legal right of first refusal when ex-council homes are sold. Better yet, compulsory buyback powers should be explored, especially when homes are left empty or used for exploitative rents.
Introduce a Windfall Tax: Those who profited from deeply discounted council homes — especially landlords — should face a windfall levy, with the proceeds ring-fenced for social housing construction.
Invest Directly in Public Housing: A large-scale programme of public housebuilding is essential. This means cutting out profit-hungry developers and giving councils the funding, powers, and land to build homes people can actually afford.
Enshrine Housing as a Right: The UK needs a new legal framework that treats housing as a basic human right, not a speculative investment. Councils should be legally obligated to maintain minimum levels of social housing per capita.
A reckoning long overdue
Chris Hayes, Common Wealth’s chief economist, put it plainly: “Right to buy was a central pillar in a decades-long assault on local government.”
Councils were denied control over assets they had built, only to watch them become private commodities.
Now, with homelessness rising and millions on waiting lists, that mistake can no longer be excused.
As social housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa said, “Homes that were once publicly owned are now profit-generating assets for private landlords.”
We are not just in a housing crisis — we are in the aftermath of a slow-motion heist of public wealth.
Reversing that damage will require more than pledges and piecemeal reform.
It will take political courage — and a recognition that right to buy was the wrong choice for Britain.
Right to Buy, wrong turn: Thatcher’s £200 billion housing disaster needs radical remedy
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It was billed as a revolution — a chance for working families to own their own home, to stake a claim in Margaret Thatcher’s “property-owning democracy.”
But more than four decades on, right to buy has become one of the most destructive policies in British housing history.
A damning new report by the Common Wealth thinktank lays bare the staggering cost of the scheme: a £200 billion hole in public finances, a gutted social housing stock, and a legacy of deepening inequality.
What was sold to the public as empowerment has turned out to be a decades-long asset giveaway — and now, taxpayers are paying the price.
One in six private renters now live in former council houses
Since 1980, 1.9 million council homes in England have been sold off — most at heavily discounted prices.
On average, homes were sold for 43 per cent below market value.
Today, many of those properties are owned by private landlords, with one in six private renters living in what used to be public housing.
The cost to the public isn’t just historical.
Local authorities, now stripped of these housing assets, are being forced to spend more than £20 billion a year on housing benefit, often to rent back the very homes they once owned.
The result is a grotesque loop in which public funds sustain private profit while people in need are left in temporary accommodation.
From social safety net to speculative market
The Common Wealth report describes right to buy as “one of the largest giveaways in UK history,” with £194 billion in public value handed to private buyers.
The market value of those homes today stands at an estimated £430 billion while, across the country, social housing waiting lists grow, temporary housing costs skyrocket, and home ownership rates for young people have collapsed.
In 1990, more than half of 25- to 34-year-olds owned their own home.
Now, fewer than a quarter do.
Property wealth has been hoarded by older generations, while younger and poorer Britons are trapped in a precarious, profiteering rental market.
Labour’s pledge falls short
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has announced plans to tighten eligibility for right to buy, extending the qualifying period from three to ten years.
It’s a step in the right direction — but it does little to address the long-term fallout.
Labour’s broader housing plan includes £39 billion for new social and affordable housing over the next decade and a target of 1.5 million new homes.
But as the Centre for Cities has reported, restoring social housing to 2010 levels alone would cost £50 billion.
The scale of the crisis demands more than cautious reforms.
It requires a bold reversal of policy.
What must be done?
Suspend Right to Buy: Scotland and Wales have already scrapped the scheme. England should follow immediately, particularly in areas where housing need is most acute.
Reclaim Public Assets: Councils must be given the legal right of first refusal when ex-council homes are sold. Better yet, compulsory buyback powers should be explored, especially when homes are left empty or used for exploitative rents.
Introduce a Windfall Tax: Those who profited from deeply discounted council homes — especially landlords — should face a windfall levy, with the proceeds ring-fenced for social housing construction.
Invest Directly in Public Housing: A large-scale programme of public housebuilding is essential. This means cutting out profit-hungry developers and giving councils the funding, powers, and land to build homes people can actually afford.
Enshrine Housing as a Right: The UK needs a new legal framework that treats housing as a basic human right, not a speculative investment. Councils should be legally obligated to maintain minimum levels of social housing per capita.
A reckoning long overdue
Chris Hayes, Common Wealth’s chief economist, put it plainly: “Right to buy was a central pillar in a decades-long assault on local government.”
Councils were denied control over assets they had built, only to watch them become private commodities.
Now, with homelessness rising and millions on waiting lists, that mistake can no longer be excused.
As social housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa said, “Homes that were once publicly owned are now profit-generating assets for private landlords.”
We are not just in a housing crisis — we are in the aftermath of a slow-motion heist of public wealth.
Reversing that damage will require more than pledges and piecemeal reform.
It will take political courage — and a recognition that right to buy was the wrong choice for Britain.
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