Approximate read time: 24 minutes
Part 1 of Social Housing Bill [HL] includes several changes to the right to buy system, including:
- extending the period of time someone must be a tenant before the right to buy can be exercised from three years to 10 years
- creating an indefinite right of first refusal for the former landlord of a right to buy property when it is to be resold
- exempting newly constructed social housing from the right to buy
- extending the period of time during which the landlord may request repayment of the discount given for the purchase of a property using the right to buy if it is then resold from five years to 10 years
- Requiring social housing providers to give notice when they intend to dispose of properties out of the social housing sector in order to enable the local authority and other providers the option to buy these properties and retain them within the sector
Part 2 of the bill would also establish a framework by which landlords are able to take possession action against perpetrators of domestic abuse without risking the loss of the tenancy of their victims who may be joint tenants.
Finally, part 3 would repeal several provisions concerning the right to buy introduced by the previous Conservative government that were never implemented. This includes powers given to the secretary of state intended to encourage local authorities to sell high value housing, the phasing out of lifetime secure tenancies and the power to set the levels of rent local housing authorities must charge high income social tenants.
The bill has been welcomed by bodies representing the social housing sector including the National Housing Federation. However, organisations including the charity Shelter have said the government needs to take further action to improve social housing provision in England.
The bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 14 May 2026 and second reading is scheduled to take place on 1 June 2026. The government has published explanatory notes and a series of other supporting documents to accompany the bill, including a delegated powers memorandum, a human rights memorandum and a guide to the bill. The government has not published an impact assessment.
Cover image by Louis Reed on Unsplash.
