Right to Invest launched in Barking and Dagenham

Right to Invest launched in Barking and Dagenham

An east London council has moved a step closer to being the first in the country to offer its council tenants the opportunity to take up shared ownership of their council property.

The Right to Invest Scheme has now been running for a month and aims to provide affordable home ownership option for council tenants on lower incomes to meet their aspirations to become home owners and help to create a stable less transient community.

Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “The chronic housing crisis in London is getting worse, especially for those on low incomes already suffering the effects of austerity. And the proposals in the Housing and Planning Bill are likely to impact negatively on our tenants even further, so we have to do the right thing by taking action to try and help those most at risk.

“We are a nation of home owners and it is the dream of many to own their own home. However, Barking and Dagenham has the lowest level of owner-occupation in London, so it is important that we help those on low incomes not get priced out of the housing market or forced out of London.”

Approximately 200 applications to the Right to Buy scheme in the borough are not taken up each year because applicants find that even with the discount they still can’t afford the repayments.
The scheme will be available to all tenants who meet the Right to Buy criteria, however, unlike Right to Buy, it will have a share ceiling of 70% meaning the property always remains a housing option for those on lower incomes and is protected from sub-letting.

Councillor Ashraf continued: “We are trying to bring some stability to our community by offering a range of solutions that are affordable, help people set down roots, raise a family, become part of the community, and protect council stock at the same time.

“We were the first council to set up a housing company, one of only two councils to operate a borough-wide private sector licensing scheme and now the first to offer tenant shared ownership. We are committed to growing our borough and supporting our residents and we believe a mix of tenures and housing types is key.”

Josh Morris

Josh is the Journalist for the Today's Group and writes many of the articles for Today's Conveyancer. He graduated with a degree in Physics from Cardiff University in 2009 before training as a journalist. He has previously written for The Times, The Mirror and The Daily Express.

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