Social HomeBuy initiative: three council houses sold

I’ve not read all 111 pages yet but yesterday the Department for Communities and Local Government published an independent evaluation of the Social HomeBuy initiative.

The evaluation is timely. Only three council houses had been sold via Social HomeBuy by the end of 2007. The scheme has been more successful with housing associations but we are not seeing great strides towards an asset-owning society.

In the executive summary, the evaluators note:

An average of 70% of tenants receive benefits and therefore would be ineligible for a mortgage. Of the remaining 30% of tenants, demand remains limited by income, demand to be a home owner and the desirability of their current property.

That has relevance across housing policy more broadly.