Housing statistics: quarterly update, September 2016

Sales of Local Authority Dwellings to Sitting Tenants (Right to Buy)

Most sales of local authority housing to tenants are sales under Right to Buy although a small number cover other sales such as voluntary sales by local authorities to sitting tenants.

Chart 13: Local Authority Sales to Sitting Tenants: Quarterly Applications and sales, 2005 onwards

In July 2013 the Scottish Government announced that the Right to Buy was to end for all tenants. Immediately following this announcement the number of applications and the number of sales between July and September 2013 both increased (by 39% and 44% respectively) compared to the previous quarter. The increases were higher than in the same quarter of 2012, where the number of applications and the number of sales increased by 5% and 7% respectively.

The Right to Buy scheme closed to all new applicants on 31 July 2016. The most recent figures available on applications and sales are for January to March 2016. During this period there were 1,833 Right to Buy applications (82% higher than in the same quarter the previous year, and more than double the same quarter in 2014) and 507 sales (34% higher than in the same quarter in the previous year, and 20% higher than in the same quarter in 2014). Throughout the year ending March 2016 there were 1,739 sales to sitting tenants, 12% more than in the previous year and 5,006 applications which is 40% more than the previous year.