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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Right to Buy.

226 replies

Differentforgirls · 03/04/2026 18:35

Was “Right to Buy” a policy that has created the current housing crisis? I think it was.

OP posts:
Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:12

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 12:45

Wasn’t going to buy my CH but now in the process of buying because

a) there’s that much hate and fury regarding lifetime tenancies I now have a fear that this right will be removed. So I now feel less secure, hence me buying it.

b) rent was affordable when I moved in 6 years ago at £405 a month. I now pay £795 a month. Up and up and up it goes, to the point where a mortgage on it would now be cheaper (bloke next door bought his and his mortgage is around the £500 a month mark)

So why on earth would I choose the most expensive option? So it is what it is and it will be mine soon.

My mum was also in a house that was termed "higher rented". Not sure that exists anymore where I am but if she hadn't bought she would be paying around 500-600 pounds a month off a 23k net pension.

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 14:17

@Blueshoey484

I am pretty certain at some point mine changed from social rent to affordable rent. Except isn’t that affordable lol.

It is currently going through right now and we are looking at saving around 200-300 pounds a month simply by buying it. Obviously we will be responsible for repairs and upkeep but tbh the councils “upkeep” isn’t that great anyway.

It now makes zero financial sense for us as a family to keep this as a social house even though I was going too when we were on social rent. I may as well have more disposable income and an asset that could potentially go to my children, that’s if we don’t need care of course.

Also, the discount was enough for the deposit. It was actually a lot more generous than what was stated on the government website. We would have been a special kind of stupid to keep paying soaring rent prices. I felt like that was the councils intention to be honest. They want them off their hands.

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:19

CostOfLoving · 05/04/2026 10:58

But you didn't have to buy in your 20s. You could have bought in your 30s or 40s like so many of us have to (if we can ever buy at all!)

You could have used the large lump sum you got for selling your former council flat as a deposit.

So many of us are on extremely low incomes (less than a teacher) yet having to pay extortionate rents because there weren't enough lovely cheap council homes to go round. Honestly sometimes people living in council housing or who have received other help don't seem to realise they are not the poorest of the poor.

Out of interest, how would you have felt if right to buy had a clause that meant when the property was eventually sold, it had to be sold back to the council (or at least they get first refusal) at the same discount as it was bought? That's the only thing I can think of that would remotely justify right to buy.

Large lump sum - I got 26k.

I was not in a position to buy when sold my flat - I was on universal credit. I was working a zero hours job and teaching a fitness class one night a week.

Im not a teacher - my mum was. I've never said I'm the poorest of the poor - other people have said that for me

I also took a house in one of the worst areas of my home town that no one wanted to live in. I was homeless when I got that flat

I had drug dealing neighbours and threats to torch my flat and poison my pets. Even when I was leaving - I was still being threatened

By the way - when my mum retired ten years ago she wasn't even earning 35k

She was probably on around 20k when she bought her council home - if that

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:23

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 14:17

@Blueshoey484

I am pretty certain at some point mine changed from social rent to affordable rent. Except isn’t that affordable lol.

It is currently going through right now and we are looking at saving around 200-300 pounds a month simply by buying it. Obviously we will be responsible for repairs and upkeep but tbh the councils “upkeep” isn’t that great anyway.

It now makes zero financial sense for us as a family to keep this as a social house even though I was going too when we were on social rent. I may as well have more disposable income and an asset that could potentially go to my children, that’s if we don’t need care of course.

Also, the discount was enough for the deposit. It was actually a lot more generous than what was stated on the government website. We would have been a special kind of stupid to keep paying soaring rent prices. I felt like that was the councils intention to be honest. They want them off their hands.

That's the position my mum was in. Her mortgage was half her rent. She got no support from my brothers dad - he emigrated and two pounds a week from my dad till I was sixteen

But apparently I took a flat from someone that wanted to live in my area - that's not the case. My housing scheme was demolished because of the number of voids. At one point they were furnishing flats for people - and they still didn't want to take them

Needspaceforlego · 05/04/2026 14:25

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 12:45

Wasn’t going to buy my CH but now in the process of buying because

a) there’s that much hate and fury regarding lifetime tenancies I now have a fear that this right will be removed. So I now feel less secure, hence me buying it.

b) rent was affordable when I moved in 6 years ago at £405 a month. I now pay £795 a month. Up and up and up it goes, to the point where a mortgage on it would now be cheaper (bloke next door bought his and his mortgage is around the £500 a month mark)

So why on earth would I choose the most expensive option? So it is what it is and it will be mine soon.

Honestly I wouldn't blame anyone who's in a position to buy their house for doing it.

I don't think councils will ever move from lifetime tenancies, esp since a huge part of council tenancy is the tenant is responsible for decorating it and keeping it right. So many people spend a fortune on council houses, kitchens, bathrooms doing their own maintenance, rather than wait for the council to get round to it.

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 14:25

@Blueshoey484

Yes it makes sense. Mumsnet is out of date on this subject.

Who in their right mind is going to pay pretty much £800 a month on rent when they can get a mortgage for £400/500 pounds a month on the SAME house. That extra 300 pounds a month is going to be invaluable when it comes to actually feeding my children.

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:26

My flat WAS sold back to the council - otherwise they would have taken me to court and put me through a CPO - and I was told I would get 7k less if I didn't sell. Oddly enough the man who refused to sell got 16k more and a brand new home in the new development

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 14:30

@Needspaceforlego

Yes. You’re right. It’s crazy really, I’m going to be making a saving of 300 pounds a month buying my council house. In the land of Mumsnet we all sit in our houses rent free lol.

Personally I think paying 800 pounds a month to live on my estate is a piss take. I can currently see two mattresses outside the front (fly tipping) just a little context on the house and area I live in. May as well buy the heap of shit and free up some extra cash.

I am actually very grateful for this house (believe it or not) and I was happy paying council rent. I was never, ever going to buy this house but the council are now taking the piss with the rent. Anyway, it will be mine very shortly.

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:32

I also loved my flat - but for anyone who thinks it was "lovely". I had a kitchen that you could put your hands through the crumbling cupboards. I waited 20 years to get a decent kitchen

My windows were faulty - even after they got fixed - which saved my life when my heating went wrong and there was carbon monoxide in my flat

Carbon monoxide is silent but I kept saying to my mum - I smell gas - something isn't right - and then an engineer came out and shouted at me - apparently I should have known. Turned my heating off as it was dangerous - on Christmas eve in minus temps.

Yeah - lovely

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:33

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 14:30

@Needspaceforlego

Yes. You’re right. It’s crazy really, I’m going to be making a saving of 300 pounds a month buying my council house. In the land of Mumsnet we all sit in our houses rent free lol.

Personally I think paying 800 pounds a month to live on my estate is a piss take. I can currently see two mattresses outside the front (fly tipping) just a little context on the house and area I live in. May as well buy the heap of shit and free up some extra cash.

I am actually very grateful for this house (believe it or not) and I was happy paying council rent. I was never, ever going to buy this house but the council are now taking the piss with the rent. Anyway, it will be mine very shortly.

Total piss take. My rent for a one bedroom flat has just gone up to 380 quid a month

TheHouse · 05/04/2026 14:34

And then when you ring them because something needs sorting and they ask you if you have any special needs? Goodness…. Be glad not to liaise with them ever again.

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:41

I was also a home owner for three years out of my entire life.

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:59

And for the person who said I should have bought a flat with my lump sum. I moved during lockdown. When the country was at a standstill. Most other councils put moves on hold - not mine

So I was supposed to move into my new council flat and then move again with my lump sum

I didn't get the money for my flat sale until the Monday after I moved into this flat. So I was supposed to move into this flat and then move again and buy somewhere - on universal credit?

I had the square root of fuck right all when my flat was sold - buying another wasn't an option

Differentforgirls · 05/04/2026 15:20

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 14:09

I wasnt in a position not to buy because of my principles. I was poor. And as I said I lived on a housing estate that was knocked down because no one wanted to live there

My mum was in the same position - if my dad and my brothers dad had actually stepped up and paid her an appropriate amount of child maintenance she might have been in a position to buy elsewhere

She would have struggled badly in retirement if she hadn't bought her council house

It feels personal. The comments about me not being left wing feel personal

I’m glad to see you back. I seriously don’t think people are being personal. I’m not.

OP posts:
Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 15:35

Differentforgirls · 05/04/2026 15:20

I’m glad to see you back. I seriously don’t think people are being personal. I’m not.

I know you aren't. But I have had comments on here about why didn't I buy another flat when I moved house - I couldn't. My mum actually bought my flat for me when she retired and got a lump sum - I paid 7.5k for it and when it was sold I gave her money back. I just think sometimes people post and think it's so easy for people to get on the property ladder - when it's not

And then people are posting saying if you were really left wing you wouldn't have bought your council flat out of principles.

When my mum dies - she's left the house to me, because my brother owns his own house and when I die it will go to my brother but honestly - I don't care about that. If she leaves it to charity that's fine by me. I didn't buy my council flat to profit and my mum didn't either. It really was the only way I could get security at that point in time

I also left my flat to my brother in my will - and now I will need to change it.

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 19:41

If I had lived two miles away I would have got over 100k for my flat and would have been in the position to buy something else

For some reason even though there were new build flats less than five minutes walk away from me that sold for over 100k. Everything on my estate went for 26. Apart from the man who held them to ransom and wouldn't leave - he got 42k

I honestly just think you can't win. I spent Friday on another thread being told that I should be grateful to have a council house and now on here I'm being told that I was selfish for buying my last home

If I didn't have cats - I would go and live in a tent somewhere or move back in with my mum.

There's one post on here that has hugely upset me. The one that suggested that I wasn't the "poorest of the poor". That's right - I'm not the "poorest of the poor". Only because I had a life changing accident two years ago that left me on disability benefits and because I eventually got benefits for my ptsd - both stopping this year if anyone wants to make an issue of it

And I'll say something else to the person who made the "teacher" dig. My mum struggled very badly when I was growing up - she was on such a poor wage when I was five that despite her working full time as a teacher I qualified for free school meals - poor.

As I said previously if my dad had paid more than two quid a week to my mum back in the day or if my brothers dad had paid anything - she might have been in the position to buy

And I'm going to buy another house on universal credit am I? I should have bought in my 30s or 40s?

In my 30s I was sacked from a job for complaining about my shit working conditions. I then went back to do sessional work - for 5.45 an hour. I then got a full time job in a homeless unit - 12k a year. I then went to work for another homeless unit and was made redundant after three years

People saying you should have done this and you should have done that - you don't know what someone's life has been like

TempestTost · 06/04/2026 03:08

Needspaceforlego · 05/04/2026 08:45

I don't know anyone who ascended to middle class really from purchasing their council house. Mostly they are still in them or have passed away
I only know two couples who sold and moved elsewhere.

The one couple sold the council house to buy a nicer house. That money wisely invested in the hope of leaving some inheritance for their kids is being blown on nursing home fees.

Others have sold and moved into Sheltered housing, and moving money on to their kids while they are able to do so.

The whole system is designed to keep working class people down. Very difficult to be upwardly mobile in the UK

Are you saying then that it is not the case that many sold their homes on and they became part of the private rental market, which is a common criticism of the program?

Because if it is mostly the same people living in them then that seems like it would suggest the program was fairly successful in housing the people for whom it was intended while also giving them a asset with real value, rather than taking the rental fee out of their pockets each month.

You can't have it both ways.

In any case, people don't need to sell or move for an asset like a house to be significant for their purchasing power. It's possible, for example, for a person with a house to secure a loan to start a business with a home as collateral, while an individual in the same house, as a tenant, would be unable to secure the loan. That is the kind of leverage that those who are less well off often lack, and it means that even if they have the same drive, the same good ideas, etc, they are unable to take advantage of those things in the same way as someone who already has some assets.

TempestTost · 06/04/2026 03:16

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 15:35

I know you aren't. But I have had comments on here about why didn't I buy another flat when I moved house - I couldn't. My mum actually bought my flat for me when she retired and got a lump sum - I paid 7.5k for it and when it was sold I gave her money back. I just think sometimes people post and think it's so easy for people to get on the property ladder - when it's not

And then people are posting saying if you were really left wing you wouldn't have bought your council flat out of principles.

When my mum dies - she's left the house to me, because my brother owns his own house and when I die it will go to my brother but honestly - I don't care about that. If she leaves it to charity that's fine by me. I didn't buy my council flat to profit and my mum didn't either. It really was the only way I could get security at that point in time

I also left my flat to my brother in my will - and now I will need to change it.

Honestly, who cares if people think you are left wing or not? The corporate right want landlords to own everything. The high horse left want the state to own everything. Neither want people to have real control over their own jobs or homes.

Needspaceforlego · 06/04/2026 08:07

TempestTost · 06/04/2026 03:08

Are you saying then that it is not the case that many sold their homes on and they became part of the private rental market, which is a common criticism of the program?

Because if it is mostly the same people living in them then that seems like it would suggest the program was fairly successful in housing the people for whom it was intended while also giving them a asset with real value, rather than taking the rental fee out of their pockets each month.

You can't have it both ways.

In any case, people don't need to sell or move for an asset like a house to be significant for their purchasing power. It's possible, for example, for a person with a house to secure a loan to start a business with a home as collateral, while an individual in the same house, as a tenant, would be unable to secure the loan. That is the kind of leverage that those who are less well off often lack, and it means that even if they have the same drive, the same good ideas, etc, they are unable to take advantage of those things in the same way as someone who already has some assets.

I'm saying becoming house owners hasn't necessarily made people middle class.

Middle class is a different level to someone who's just kept their head above water paying their mortgage.

Someone in a ex-council house in a decent area is not going to want to risk trying a business to it, you risk losing the house and ending up homeless.
Then what happens the council 'house you' by putting you into the multi storey flats nobody wants with the dealers and the alkies, the folk that piss in the lifts?

Yes lots of ex-council houses will have ended up in the hands of renters as the original buyers move into homes, sheltered housing or die off.
Of the people I know who bought all now in their late 70s / 80s or older,
1 couple dead, the family gave them the money to buy in the first place, so got a return in their investment,
1 couple sold to up-size money now being used for nursing home, no real benefit to the next generation
1 couple sold and moved into sheltered housing, they might have moved some money on at the point of sale.

The other folks are all still in their houses.

TheHouse · 06/04/2026 09:13

@Needspaceforlego

My mum did. Sold her council house, made 175k profit, bought a new one. Went to Uni, became a nurse. Sold the second house for a profit. Now sitting in a house worth 600k which is a LOT for the city I live in. She grew up in care.

Needspaceforlego · 06/04/2026 09:20

TheHouse · 06/04/2026 09:13

@Needspaceforlego

My mum did. Sold her council house, made 175k profit, bought a new one. Went to Uni, became a nurse. Sold the second house for a profit. Now sitting in a house worth 600k which is a LOT for the city I live in. She grew up in care.

How old was your mum when she bought?

The people i know who bought were either retired or mid 40s with families.

TheHouse · 06/04/2026 09:22

@Needspaceforlego

Late 30s as a single mum. Worked 3 jobs. Then when it was bought she went to uni and qualified as a nurse. Bought the second house, went on to become consultant nurse, care home manager then chain manager, regional manager etc. Still has plenty of friends on her original estate. Some bought, some didn’t. She was a grafter.

Needspaceforlego · 06/04/2026 09:27

Fair play to her.
I'm in aww how did she cope with shifts and childcare?
But I'll say shes the exception rather than the norm.

TheHouse · 06/04/2026 09:31

@Needspaceforlego

We were often left to fend for ourselves tbh. It wasn’t ideal and I’ve been very cautious with my own children about how much time I spend away at work. She’s retired now and regrets working so hard, well so she says 🤦‍♀️. She said her house is just bricks and mortar and she wasn’t sure what the hell she did all that for (mates on the estate are just has happy basically).

But that’s another story. But thanks.

CostOfLoving · 06/04/2026 09:48

Blueshoey484 · 05/04/2026 19:41

If I had lived two miles away I would have got over 100k for my flat and would have been in the position to buy something else

For some reason even though there were new build flats less than five minutes walk away from me that sold for over 100k. Everything on my estate went for 26. Apart from the man who held them to ransom and wouldn't leave - he got 42k

I honestly just think you can't win. I spent Friday on another thread being told that I should be grateful to have a council house and now on here I'm being told that I was selfish for buying my last home

If I didn't have cats - I would go and live in a tent somewhere or move back in with my mum.

There's one post on here that has hugely upset me. The one that suggested that I wasn't the "poorest of the poor". That's right - I'm not the "poorest of the poor". Only because I had a life changing accident two years ago that left me on disability benefits and because I eventually got benefits for my ptsd - both stopping this year if anyone wants to make an issue of it

And I'll say something else to the person who made the "teacher" dig. My mum struggled very badly when I was growing up - she was on such a poor wage when I was five that despite her working full time as a teacher I qualified for free school meals - poor.

As I said previously if my dad had paid more than two quid a week to my mum back in the day or if my brothers dad had paid anything - she might have been in the position to buy

And I'm going to buy another house on universal credit am I? I should have bought in my 30s or 40s?

In my 30s I was sacked from a job for complaining about my shit working conditions. I then went back to do sessional work - for 5.45 an hour. I then got a full time job in a homeless unit - 12k a year. I then went to work for another homeless unit and was made redundant after three years

People saying you should have done this and you should have done that - you don't know what someone's life has been like

You initially said that you made a profit by buying your council house at a discount, then selling later. It would seem obvious that if it was sold for the market value of the area you should be able to buy something else in the same area. Or at least put down a very large deposit on somewhere new (and get a very small mortgage even on benefits - a relative has done this after inheriting). It seems an utterly peculiar situation that the council only gave you 26k if that wasn't the price, or close to it, of nearby equivalent properties.

You also said you couldn't buy in your 20s, as if that was the end of it. I was simply pointing out there's not a time limit like that for buying somewhere. Especially as it sounds like property prices were very cheap in your area, and you were previously working. You mention wages but no dates - presumably you were not working for less than minimum wage? So your full time job of 12k, whilst that sounds low today, would have been enough to live on reasonably.

You SHOULD be grateful to have a council house (and a house not flat!) and you have said you are, so no problem there. You recognise how helpful a thing it is.

I don't know why you're so upset about it being pointed out you're not the poorest of the poor. You say that's because of disability benefits, yet you were working before that so surely either better off then or at least not desperately poor (ie. on basic UC). You certainly wouldn't have been scraping together rent not covered by UC, as social rents are always covered in full.

I was on disability benefits before, for a long time and for hellish reasons. My capacity to work is still affected (and always will be) and I'm currently on a significantly lower income than your Mum's pension and paying half of it in (private) rent, so yes it is a bit galling that someone who's had more opportunities to work in the past and the opportunity of council property talks as if they are so hard done by.

And the teacher thing - if your Mum was working full time as a teacher when you were small, she MUST have been better off than people in lower paid jobs, or out of work for whatever reason. She was not the poorest of the poor either, working in a professional job!

I will add that about 10 years ago I was on the equivalent of 20k a year, like you mention your Mum was just before retirement. Frankly, it felt like a fortune to me. (I say "equivalent" as it was less than that but was disability benefits, so I worked out I'd need to be earning 20k to be on the same amount. I worked it out because I was trying so hard to better my situation and come off benefits against the odds).

Not sure how you can be so sure your benefits will stop - if you are still disabled you MUST appeal.