'Shocking' data shows loss of Portsmouth social housing stock due to right to buy scheme

Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showed 71 council homes in Portsmouth were sold through the right to buy scheme last year - an increase on 11 from 2018.

However, in 2019 the council acquired or began construction on just 51 replacement homes for those sold previously, creating a shortfall of 20.

In the same time 20 new private homes were started or built by developers in the city.

Housing campaigner Councillor Cal Corkery said: 'This is something we have known about for a long time as we know local authorities across the country aren't building new social housing at the level they need to. However, these are pretty shocking figures as it shows there's been a net decrease in vital social homes.

'In somewhere like Portsmouth there are quite significant bits of land that are council owned, which could be used to build homes but little or no progress been made - such as in Tipner and the city centre north.

'Building social homes needs to be a priority.'

Currently councils are expected to replace right to buy homes on a one-for-one basis, but can only use 30 per cent of the receipts from properties sold to cover the cost of replacements.

And the Local Government Association (LGA) believed councils should be given more power to build new homes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

David Renard, housing spokesman for the LGA, said: 'The government should also urgently extend the time limit for spending right to buy receipts from three years to five years, to ensure that many planned council housing projects that are currently on hold can continue to go ahead at the appropriate time.

'As part of the country’s recovery from coronavirus, to deliver the housing the country needs government should give councils the powers to build homes again and reform right to buy so councils can keep receipts in full to invest in new housing, and set discounts locally.'

Nationally, 9,986 homes were sold through right to buy last year, while 5,811 replacement homes were acquired or started.