A new Bill going through Parliament will make it harder for council and housing association tenants to buy their properties. 

The Social Housing Bill aims to address the long-term decline in social housing. 

More than two million homes have been sold under the Right to Buy scheme since 1980, with many never replaced, and between 2012 and 2025, around 133,000 council homes were sold against just 51,000 replacements.

A statement from the government says: “Not only has this depleted much-needed stock, but it has also reduced the motivation and confidence of councils to build, and restricted broader investment in council housing. 

“This has depleted supply, undermined councils’ confidence to build and restricted investment – at a time when 1.3 million households are on councils’ waiting lists and more than 175,000 children are living in temporary accommodation.”

The government claims the Bill “rebalances Right to Buy without closing the door on home ownership.” 

Eligibility for Right To Buy rise from three to 10 years, with newly built social homes protected for 35 years, and hard-to-replace rural homes removed from the scheme completely. 

Discount rules will be updated to reflect the cash discounts cap introduced in November 2024 and councils will gain a stronger right of first refusal to buy back properties – helping recover homes lost to the scheme.

The Bill also strips out outdated and unimplemented requirements from the Housing and Planning Act 2016, including rules forcing councils to sell high-value homes, offer fixed-term tenancies and charge higher rents to higher-income tenants, giving providers the certainty they need to build for the long term.