Ipswich Borough Council spends £7.5m buying back former council homes

The big picture: This is part of a wider trend across England, where local authorities have spent £1.7 billion buying back former council properties.

By the numbers:

• Ipswich Borough Council has spent £7.5 million on Right to Buy properties since 2015.

• £5.7 million of Ipswich's spending occurred since 2020, purchasing 98 homes at an average value of £58,163 per property.

Zooming out: Nationwide, councils have repurchased 8,600 Right to Buy properties, 5,900 of which have been purchased since 2020. Across England, 23 councils have spent more than £10 million each since 2020.

Why it matters: The Right to Buy scheme allows council tenants to purchase their homes at a discount, but many local authorities are now spending significant sums to reacquire these properties.

• This raises questions about the long-term financial impact on councils and their ability to provide affordable housing.

• The practice has been described as "penny-wise but pound-foolish" by a think tank executive.

Between the lines: Councils are legally required to sell housing stock at discounted rates - starting at 35% for houses and 50% for flats.

• So, when buying back properties, councils often have to pay more than the original sale price.

• Many local authorities are seeking ways to increase their housing stock due to housing shortages and the high cost of temporary accommodation.

What they're saying: Councillor Claire Holland, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, explained:

"With councils spending vast sums on costly temporary accommodation due to the shortage of social housing, they look for ways to increase their stock, which includes buying back previous council housing."

Councillor Alasdair Ross, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Housing, added:

“Anyone wishing to sell their home within 10 years of buying it from the Council, through Right to Buy, must first offer it back to the Council.

"We buy back what properties we have the funds for, in order to provide as many affordable council homes as we can to tenants."

The other side: Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director at the Institute of Public Policy Research, said: "The scale of councils selling off properties, only to buy them back a few years later, highlights the absurdity of the austerity years – selling low, buying high, short-term savings at the expense of long-term costs, penny-wise but pound-foolish."

The bottom line: The Local Government Association is calling for reforms to the Right to Buy scheme, including one-to-one replacement of lost housing stock and allowing councils to retain 100% of sales receipts.