The government has announced a delay to the introduction of voluntary right to buy (VRTB). VRTB was initially planned to commence by the end of 2016, but resistance from councils and the media’s criticism of selling off already diminished social housing stock has meant that it has probably been kicked into the long grass.

The mechanism for repaying housing associations for agreeing to allow VRTB was via councils selling off their high value properties. However, with no reported sales to date, the government has been left with no funds in place. The intention is to now roll out VRTB in April 2018.