A new housing bill to be introduced in 2020 will see a social housing charter set up to create new standards for social property landlords and those that fail to meet the targets will face a clampdown.
The right-to-buy council property in the UK was introduced in 1980 and widely hailed as a way of offering poorer families the means to buy their own property.It resulted in half a million council homes being sold and it was much criticised for leaving many local authorities bereft of affordable housing.
The Scottish government said it plans to invest £1.5 billion in affordable housing over the next three years which will include a new generation of council house building. ‘Social housing provides a secure and sustainable alternative to home ownership for 600,000 households in Scotland.
Our Housing Bill will safeguard that housing for future generations by ending the right-to-buy for all new-supply social housing,’ said First Minister Alex Salmond.
The Scottish Government is also proposing a new law to stop bankrupt people losing their homes unnecessarily.A review of possible solutions, as part of the Debt and Family Homes Bill, will look at whether legislation could prevent creditors from taking the homes of people in debt to them.
Others in the industry welcomed the news and in particular Shelter Scotland said it will offer an alternative for those facing re-possession because of the property and economic downturn.
‘Measures to help protect those facing re-possession is always good news. Repossession is a living nightmare for families faced with it, and must be prevented wherever possible,’ said Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland.
