Accredited official statistics

Social housing sales and demolitions 2021-22: Right to Buy sales

Updated 26 January 2023

Applies to England

The data on Right to Buy presented in this release is complemented by the Right to Buy sales and replacements in 2021-22 statistical release which was published in July 2022. This release focusses on the receipts from the sale of local authority properties and how they are spent on the provision of new social housing. For more information, please see the technical notes.

1. Headline figures

2,006,690 social housing dwellings have been sold through Right to Buy schemes from April 1980 to March 2022. This includes Statutory Right to Buy, Voluntary Right to Buy and Preserved Right to Buy

91% of all recorded social housing sales from April 1980 to March 2022 have been through Right to Buy schemes

In 2021-22 there were:

14,006 sales of social housing were made in 2021-22 through the Right to Buy schemes, an increase of 52% compared to 2020-21, though a decrease of 8% compared to 2019-20.

1,397 sales of social housing through the Right to Acquire scheme, an increase of 80% compared to 2020-21, and an increase of 24% compared to 2020-21

2. Right to Buy sales

In 2021-22, there were 14,006 sales of social housing through the Right to Buy scheme ^{[footnote 1]}, including Preserved Right to Buy and Voluntary Right to Buy ^{[footnote 2]}, an increase of 52% compared to 2020-21, although this is a decrease of 8% compared to 2019-20.

Of the 14,006 Right to Buy sales in 2021-22, 10,974 were local authority owned and 3,032 were owned by private registered providers (PRPs). Of those owned by PRPs, 3,008 were sold through Preserved Right to Buy and 24 were sold through Voluntary Right to Buy ^{[footnote 2]}.

Following a drop in Right to Buy sales in 2020-21, local authority Right to Buy sales have recovered to 2019-20 levels. Though PRP Right to Buy sales in 2021-22 were 30% higher than in 2020-21, they are still only 65% of the total PRP Right to Buy sales in 2019-20.

Since the introduction of Right to Buy in 1980-81, there have been 2,006,690 sales of social housing to tenants through all the Right to Buy schemes ^{[footnote 3]}. Preserved Right to Buy was introduced in 1989, though data on the number of sales is only available from 1997. The vast majority, 94%, of all Right to Buy sales have been to local authority tenants. However, since 2010-11, 26% of all Right to Buy sales have been to tenants of PRP owned social housing.

Figure 2.1 Sales to tenants through the Right to Buy Schemes, England; by provider, proportion of sales 1996-97 to 2021-22

At the peak of Right to Buy sales, in 1982-83, 167,123 dwellings were sold through the scheme, representing 3% of social housing stock at 31 December 1981. There have been various smaller peaks and troughs since then, reflecting various changes in policy relating to Right to Buy. In 1986, the rules changed to allow for higher discounts to tenants of flats and the minimum term for tenants to purchase their property was reduced from 5 years to 2 years. This led to a second peak in sales between 1988-89 and 1989-90 where over 130,000 dwellings (over 2.8% of stock) were sold each year.

Figure 2.2 Sales to tenants through Right to Buy schemes per 1,000 stock, by provider 1980-81 to 2021-22

A: Start of Right to Buy Scheme, B: discounts increased for flats, C: discounts and eligibility reduced, D: discounts increased (reinvigoration)

In 1999, the maximum discount was reduced from £50,000 to a regionalized maximum, ranging from £22,000 in the North East to £38,000 in London. This change was followed by an announcement that Right to Buy was due to be reduced which led to a sharp uptake from 1998 to 2004. Total Right to Buy sales in 2003-04 were 84,102, the highest since 1989-90. In 2003, the rules were changed which increased the minimum tenancy to 5 years to qualify for Right to Buy and decreased the discounts. This change, along with the global financial crisis, meant that between 2003-04 and 2009-10, annual sales through Right to Buy dropped from 84,102 to 3,144, a 96% reduction.

In April 2012, the government changed the maximum cash discount available for Right to Buy sales to a new higher level of £75,000 across England. In March 2013, in recognition of the increasing property prices in London, the government further increased the maximum discount available for tenants living in London boroughs to £100,000. In July 2014, the government changed the maximum cash discount available for the Right to Buy in order for it to increase annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation. The discount was £84,600 in England and £112,800 in London in 2021-22. This reinvigoration, along with the introduction of the Voluntary Right to Buy, increased sales through Right to Buy to 18,100 in 2016-17; more than a five-fold increase compared to 2010-11, but still a 78% decrease compared to 2003-04.

Since 2016-17, annual sales of social housing through the Right to Buy schemes have been gradually declining, from 18,100 in 2016-17 to 15,257 in 2019-20. There was a sharper decline in 2020-21 which may be, in part, due to the restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The majority of Right to Buy sales have been local authority owned dwellings. Sales of local authority properties through Right to Buy in 2021-22 increased by 59% compared to 2020-21, reaching a value slightly above that in 2019-20. Sales of PRP-owned stock through Voluntary Right to Buy and Preserved Right to Buy increased by 30% in the same time period, though still remained lower than the sales in 2019-20. While Preserved Right to Buy sales increased from 2,187 to 3,008 from 2020-21 to 2021-22 (increase of 38%), Voluntary Right to Buy sales decreased from 138 to 24 (decrease of 83%).

Figure 2.3 Sales to tenants through Right to Buy schemes per 1,000 stock, by provider 2003-04 to 2020-22

C: discounts and eligibility reduced, D: discounts increased (reinvigoration)

3. Right to Buy sales by region

Preserved Right to Buy and Voluntary Right to Buy data are not available by region. The data collected by the RSH records the total number of sales to tenants by local authority. As Preserved and Voluntary Right to Buy comprised over 76% of total sales to tenants of PRP owned properties from 2012-13 to 2021-22, the use of the term ‘Right to Buy’ in this section in reference to PRP sales will use values for all sales to sitting tenants.

The figure below shows the total number of Right to Buy sales to sitting tenants by region between 1980 and 2022. As can be seen, during the first 4 years of the Right to Buy scheme, the most sales were seen in the North West and West Midlands. When the scheme was changed to increase the discounts for flat sales, the number of sales in London and the South East increased the most, reaching a higher peak in sales than when the scheme first began. Until 2020-11 all Right to Buy sales recorded by region are only local authority sales; from 2011-12 onwards PRP sales are also included in the total.

Since reinvigoration in 2012, sales to sitting tenants increased in all regions of England, but the largest increase was seen in London.

Figure 2.4 Sales to sitting tenants through Right to Buy schemes, by English Region 1980-81 to 2021-22

In 2021-22 the percentage of stock (both local authority and private register provider) sold to sitting tenants through Right to Buy schemes was similar across all regions, ranging from 0.19% in the South East, to 0.60% in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Figure 2.5 Sales to sitting tenants through Right to Buy schemes, percentage of total stock, by English Region 2009-10 to 2021-22

3.1 Sales to sitting tenants by region and provider

Between 1986 and 2015 there were multiple large scale volume transfers (LSVTs) ^{[footnote 4]} of local authority stock to private registered providers. LSVTs were more prevalent in certain regions of the country, particularly in the North West where 85% of stock was owned by PRPs by 2015.

Because of the regional distribution of LSVTs, in the 6 years to 2021-22, 75% of Right to Buy sales in the North West were PRP stock, whereas in Yorkshire and the Humber, where there were fewer LSVTs, the Right to Buy sales were predominantly (80%) local authority owned stock.

Figure 2.6 Sales to sitting tenants through Right to Buy schemes, by English Region and Provider 2011-12 to 2021-22

4. Right to Buy discounts

Financial data on Right to Buy discounts is available back to 1998-99 for local authorities and private registered providers. Between 1998-99 and 2011-12, the average discount reduced from 50% for both local authorities and PRPs to 27% and 32% respectively. Following the reinvigoration of the Right to Buy scheme, which also impacted Preserved Right to Buy, the average discount increased to 45% and 50% in 2012-13 for local authorities and PRPs respectively. Between 2012-13 and 2021-22 the percentage discount has remained broadly consistent and is now 41% for local authorities and 53% for PRPs.

Despite the percentage discount for PRP sales remaining higher than discounts for local authority sales, the value of the discount for local authority properties are similar to those for PRP properties. This is due in part to the fact that most local authority Right to Buy sales are on properties in the South East and London, where property values are higher. In 2021-22, the average property price sold through Right to Buy was £164,490 for local authorities and £135,530 for PRPs.

In 2021-22, there was an increase in the average property price sold through Right to Buy for local authorities, reflecting the wider housing market, which in turn led to a higher average discount. For PRPs, the average market value of Right to Buy dwellings sold in 2021-22 was similar (decrease of 0.3%) to that in 2020-21. In addition, compared to 2020-21, discounts in 2021-22 were up by 1.3% for LAs and down 0.4% for PRPs.

5. Right to Buy applications

Data on applications by tenants to purchase their social housing through the Right to Buy scheme is only collected by local authorities and currently is only available by local authority since 2011-12. Data on Right to Buy applications is not available for private registered providers.

In 2021-22 there were 27,459 applications by local authority tenants to purchase their social housing property through Right to Buy, an increase of 13% compared to 2020-21. The number of sales each year is typically around 40-50% of the number of applications.

Figure 2.7 Local authority Right to Buy applications and sales, England 1998-99 to 2021-22

6. Number of bedrooms in Right to Buy properties

Since data on bedroom numbers of local authority Right to Buy sales were first collected in 2012-13, 12% of sales have been 1 bedroom, 33% have been 2 bedroom and 53% have been 3 bedroom or more. In this same time period, 5% of PRP sales through Right to Buy were 1 bedroom, 27% were 2 bedroom and 68% were 3 or more bedrooms. These proportions have remained broadly similar across the 10 years.

For PRPs, which make up 26% of all Right to Buy sales since 2012-13, 5% of sales were 1 bedroom, 27% were 2 bedroom and 68% were 3 or more bedrooms.

The chart below shows the breakdown of Right to Buy sales by the number of bedrooms by region for PRP and local authority sales ^{[footnote 5]}. The graph below shows that for all regions of England, PRPs proportionally sell fewer 1 bed properties and more 3 or more bed properties than local authorities.

The chart also shows that for both local authorities and private registered providers, the proportion of 3 or more bedrooms properties sold in London is considerably smaller than for all other regions.

Figure 2.8 Number of bedrooms in properties sold through Right to Buy schemes, by provider and English Region 2012-13 to 2021-22

7. Right to Acquire

Tenants of social housing owned by PRPs who do not have the Preserved Right to Buy may be able to purchase their property through the Right to Acquire. Right to Acquire offers a discount between £9,000 and £16,000 to tenants depending on the location of the property. Since its introduction in 1998, there have been 11,068 sales of social housing through the Right to Acquire recorded by Homes England. ^{[footnote 6]}

In 2021-22, there were 1,397 sales of social housing through Right to Acquire, an increase of 78% compared to 2020-21, and an increase of 24% from 2019-20.

There was a sharp increase in the number of Right to Acquire sales in 2018-19, when 2,080 sales were recorded, before decreasing to 777 in 2020-21. This value increased by 80% into 2021-22.

Figure 2.9 Right to Acquire Sales in England, 1998-99 to 2021-22

1. Preserved Right to Buy and Voluntary Right to Buy are only available to PRP tenants. More information on these schemes can be found in the technical notes ↩

2. Data sourced from the Regulator of Social Housing Statistical Data Return (SDR). ↩ ↩²

3. This includes Statutory Right to Buy, Voluntary Right to Buy and Preserved Right to Buy. The Voluntary Right to Buy pilot was launched in the East and West Midlands in August 2018. ↩

4. A Large Scale Voluntary Transfer is the Voluntary transfer of ownership of all or some of a local authority’s tenanted and leasehold homes to a private registered housing provider, registered by the Social Housing Regulator, in return for a payment for the value of that stock. ↩

5. Local authority data is collected from the Local Authority Housing Statistics data collection, and PRP data is collected from CORE. ↩

6. The time series on Right to Acquire sales is derived from data reported to Homes England (HE) and the Greater London authority (GLA). These may differ from the figures from the Statistical Data Return (SDR) due to the coverage, response rates and timing of the SDR returns which are used for Live Table 678. ↩