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Right To Buy for new tenants entering the social rented sector will be ended soon, it was announced yesterday.

First time tenants and those returning to social housing after a break, will no longer be entitled to Right to Buy. Existing tenants will not be affected.

Since its introduction 30 years ago the Right to Buy has resulted in the sale, at a discount, of almost half a million homes for rent in Scotland.

Over a 10 year period it is estimated the Right To Buy reforms will retain up to 18,000 properties in the social housing sector that otherwise would be sold off.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

"Home ownership is a laudable ambition. It is an aspiration this government supports and through our investment in shared equity, we are helping more than 1,500 people get a foot on the housing ladder this year.

"But we also have a responsibility to provide homes for those who want to rent or cannot afford to buy. The credit crunch and the recession have reminded us just how important that duty is.

"But building new homes for rent is pointless if we then simply sell them off under the Right to Buy. That is why I believe the Right to Buy has had its day.

"We promised when we were elected to protect the rights of existing tenants. And we will. We also said we would abolish the Right to Buy for tenants of new build social housing. And we will.

"But I can announce today that we will go further. We will bring forward proposals to abolish the Right to Buy for all new tenants. Over the next decade our proposals will safeguard up to 18,000 houses for future generations.

"We are working hard to reverse decades of decline in council house building. This year, our £26 million investment will enable work to start on 1,300 new homes across Scotland, the first by central government in 30 years."

The Scottish Government is committed to safeguarding social housing for future generations. Around one in four Scottish households lives in social housing that provides a secure and sustainable alternative to home ownership for over 600,000 households across the country.

The Housing (Scotland) Bill will do this by reforming Right to Buy and modernising regulation to improve value for tenants and taxpayers.

Proposals include:

• To end the Right to Buy for new supply social housing
• To separate standard setting and regulation of social housing
• To provide the Scottish Housing Regulator with a statutory objective of safeguarding and promoting the interests of current and future tenants
• The Bill may also include provisions on private housing to assist local authorities to enforce existing legislation more effectively
• The Bill will be introduced in early 2010

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