Assessing the Success of the Sale of Social Housing in the UK

Abstract

This article evaluates whether the sale of social housing in the UK during the past three decades has been a success. It explores the avenues available to obtain homeownership, starting with the Right to Buy in 1980. It considers from multiple perspectives the impact of the right to purchase social housing. The article concludes that the drive to increase homeownership has produced a rather hazy picture in terms of ‘success’. From a policy perspective, the goal of increasing homeownership has been successful in the sense that the number of homeowners has steadily increased since the 1980s. However, from a social and individual perspective, it is evident that there has been limited success, with both winners and losers from this process. For example, the sale of social housing has led to a polarisation between the tenures and a process of residualisation. Also, while some individuals have benefited from acquiring a property at a discount, and have thus acquired some capital wealth, others have found themselves in debt and with a property that they cannot sell.