The Housing Act 1980 (c. 51) was an
act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
passed by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
that gave five million
council house
A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...
tenants in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
the
Right to Buy
The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives secure tenants of councils and some housing associations the legal right to buy, at a large ...
their house from their local authority. The Act came into force on 3 October 1980 and is seen as a defining policy of
Thatcherism
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...
. In
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
the Right to Buy was provided by the
Tenants' Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 and for
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
it was left to the
Housing Executive.
Background
Since the
Housing and Town Planning Act 1919 the number of
council houses
A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 a ...
had steadily risen for over fifty years and council tenants could only buy their home with the permission of their local authority. The
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
party under
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
had promised in their manifesto for the
general election of 1979 to give council house tenants the 'legal right to buy their homes'.
Housing Act 1980
The Housing Act 1980 came under
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...
's remit as he was
Environment Secretary at the time. On proposing the bill to Parliament in 1979 Heseltine said it "lays the foundations for one of the most important social revolutions of this century".
Gerald Kaufman, then in the
Labour Party Shadow Cabinet and a former Environment Minister himself, said the Act would "not provide a single new home and
ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames.
Notable p ...
deprive many homeless people or families living in tower blocks from getting suitable accommodation".
The Labour Party was vehemently opposed to the Act but by the
general election of 1987 had dropped its opposition to the Right to Buy.
["For council tenants, we will maintain the right to buy. Local authorities, at present limited by the Tories in using the receipts from council house sales, will be required to use these proceeds to invest in new housing. For the millions who choose to remain council tenants, we will give a legal right to be consulted about rents, charges, repair and improvement programmes."]
Labour Manifesto 1987: Real Choice in Housing
/ref>
The Act allowed tenants who had lived in their homes for at least three years to buy at 33% discount of the market price and 44% for a flat. If one was a tenant for over 20 years they got a 50% discount. Those not allowed to buy were tenants of charitable housing associations.
However many of the houses sold were built in the 1950s and 1960s, they were of poor quality and are today referred to as non-traditional housing,[ WBS is UK’s leading manufacturer and distributor of external wall insulation systems.] many had serious structural defects and were designated defective, the passing of the Housing Defects Act 1984 was required to allow for grants to be given to unsuspecting buyers, and to implement a cut off date for the issue of such grants.
As a result of increased building costs a further Housing Act 1988
The Housing Act 1988 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It governs the law between landlords and tenants. The Act introduced the concepts of assured tenancy and assured shorthold tenancy. It also facilitated the transfer of council ...
was passed to limit the amount of money payable, and move some types of non-traditional housing into different categories, for different levels of grant.
Mortgage-interest tax relief was also in operation and the Act provided the right to a mortgage from the local authority. The Housing Act 1980 introduced the concept known as a 'secure tenancy' which restricted local authorities power to recover possession from their tenants. The Secretary of State had reserve powers to intervene with local authorities if they did not comply with the Act.
The Housing Act 1980 also gave those who paid a £100 deposit the right to buy their home at a fixed price in a period of two years after paying the deposit. If the tenant was to sell the home they bought under the Act within five years of purchasing it they would have to share the capital gain between themselves and the local authority.
Right to Buy: Cost–benefit analysis
Growth in home ownership
Home ownership grew from 55% of the population in 1980 to 64% in 1987. By the time Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990 it was 67%. 1.5 million council houses were sold by 1990, by 1995 it was 2.1 million and as a result of the Right to Buy the Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...
received £28 billion. Proponents of the Right to Buy argue that it gave working-class council tenants opportunities to get on the property ladder which they would not otherwise had had without the Act. However, by 2015-16, home ownership had declined from a high of 70.9% in 2003 back to 62.9%, the lowest level since 1985."Home ownership in England at a 30-year low, official figures show"
"The Guardian", 2 March 2017
One third of ex-council homes owned by wealthy landlords
Tony Belton, a Labour councillor in South West London claimed that, "Speculators have made millions out of exploiting public assets."
In March 2013 the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' reported that
Charles Gow, the son of Mrs. Thatcher’s housing minister,
Ian Gow
Ian Reginald Edward Gow (; 11 February 1937 – 30 July 1990) was a British politician and solicitor. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1974 until his assassination by the ...
, bought 40 of the 120 former council flats in one housing project in
Roehampton
Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...
, in
South West London.
Rents soared in investor-owned ex-council flats
By 2013, some tenants who had purchased their council flats, sold them later to speculators, investors or property companies. By 2013, a one-bedroom council flat that sold for £50,000 in the early 1990s, for example, had a market price of £250,000.
A tight housing market led to increased rent as construction of new homes decreased.
[
]
Notes
References
External links
Government LVT websiteSummaries and Analysis of LVT decisions
See also
*
Right to Buy
The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives secure tenants of councils and some housing associations the legal right to buy, at a large ...
*
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
{{Housing in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1980
Public housing in the United Kingdom
Local government legislation in England and Wales
Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales
Public housing in England
1980 in England
1980 in Wales
Housing legislation in the United Kingdom