A local authority in London is to buy back over 300 properties it built and sold off years ago under Right To Buy rules.
Islington’s Labour council is to buy 310 units this winter - a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom properties for individuals and families - on top of the 140 it bought over the summer.
The additional properties will provide temporary accommodation for people who are experiencing homelessness, or who have had to leave Afghanistan or Ukraine.
The expanded programme is part of the council’s commitment to increasing the number of council-owned homes in the borough and will continue what the council calls “Islington’s proud history of welcoming refugees.”
The council secured an additional £82m from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to expand the buy-back scheme. It will also add £85m of funding. In total, it has secured £102m of funding from DLUHC and the Greater London Authority to deliver its buy-backs programme.
A spokesperson for the council says: “We want everyone in Islington to have a safe, decent and genuinely affordable place to call home.
“Every council home we buy back or build is another home where people can thrive. These homes will provide a secure base from which people who are experiencing homelessness or have had to flee conflict can start to rebuild their lives locally.
“They will mean more people benefit from good quality temporary accommodation in Islington when they need it most. I’m proud that we are leading the way with our buy-backs programme and also doing everything we can to increase the amount of council homes in the borough.”
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The gross waste of taxpayer money is shocking 🥲💰 the RTB should have ended decades ago. The levels of incompetent behaviour in government and councils is very sad to see. 😳
I have two former Council Houses and I sure won’t be selling them to any council!
I have an ex council house that rents well on the edge of one of the better council estates around Norwich, there are ex council houses that I wouldn't touch simply because of what is next door, many council estates are real sink estates, location , location!
I was brought up in a council house and bought one to live in. When we bought it the agent praised it because it was ex-Local Authority therefore good standard and large gardens. Strangely when selling I was told the ex-Local Authority house would put people off. I gently pointed out that I had not purchased it from the Local Authority so they could leave that off the details.
The phrase Temporary council Housing is an oxymoron . How can any council housing be temporary when everyone expect it to be there permanent home. Once you get one the council does not ever check your legibility to stay and you could in fact be earning £70k a year and still occupy one .
The system has to change as it encourages those capable of buying or renting their own homes just blocking the housing supply.
Utter waste of money. I live in Islington and the average price of a 3 bedroom house is well over 1M.
instead of buying back 320 units in Islington, the government could use that 100M+ to build thousands of homes 50 miles out of London.
There are already no homes for local people yet the council are spending over 100M to house people from abroad.
First post here by the way - nice to virtually meet everyone - Mark
I agree why is it that social tenants expect to be able to live in London, you need to be a wealthy person to be able to live in London, move out to cheaper areas
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