Selling off council homes during a housing crisis sounds ridiculous but, in some cases, it’s necessary to fund future housing projects.
This debate has reared its head after we revealed this week that Southwark Council was relaxing the rules around the sale of void council homes – those that have fallen into disrepair.
Whereas previously, any sale over £750,000 had to be approved by the council’s cabinet, officers can now rubber-stamp deals worth up to £3 million.
At a time when there are over 17,000 people on Southwark Council’s housing waiting list, some readers will rightly ask why you’d consider selling off state-owned homes to private buyers.
But the fact is that, if a council home in a desirable location could fetch £3 million, thereby funding the construction of several new flats, that’s probably a deal worth doing.
The Lib Dems have rightly pointed out that wards like Borough and Bankside, where the most valuable council homes are, already suffer from a lack of housing. They are right to back the interests of their ward constituents but, ultimately, the council needs to do what is best for Southwark as a whole. Moreover, as we explain in the article, the fact housing budgets are ring-fenced means selling homes – otherwise known as capital receipts – is one of the very few ways the council has of funding future housing projects.
That said – if the council does believe selling council homes is sometimes the best course of action, it will get more bang for its buck if it prevents them from becoming run down.