THE Town Hall will spend millions “buying back” 100 ex-council homes as part of a London-wide scheme to restore the capital’s social housing stock.

The council has announced it will spend £26million purchasing properties that previously belonged to the council, before the introduction of the right-to-buy policy in 1980. This money is being topped up by funding from the Greater London Authority and the government.

In 2021 the “right to buy-back” policy was introduced by the Mayor, Sadiq Khan. Under the scheme, local authorities are given funds to purchase former social homes that had entered private ownership.

Twenty of these one-bedroom homes will be reserved for young adults leaving the care system;
20 other one-bedroom homes will be offered to people sleeping rough in Islington, and 60 two-, three- and four-bedroom homes will be for refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

According to the London Assembly, more than 300,000 London council homes have been sold off under right-to-buy, a flagship policy introduced by former PM Margaret Thatcher.

Councillor Una O’Halloran, executive member for homes and communites, said: “Buying back these 100 homes will make a huge difference to the lives of many people in our borough, including young adults leaving local authority care, and people sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough.

“They will also provide decent homes for families who have had to leave Afghanistan and Ukraine, as part of our long and proud history of offering sanctuary to people in need.”