THE number of affordable homes in Oxfordshire provided by housing associations for people on low incomes will shrink as a result of the Right to Buy policy, according to a major industry figure in the county.

Richard Peacock, chief executive of Soha Housing, said the housing association was “totally against” the new proposal and that the policy “doesn’t help people in housing need”.

He said: “Many people will not be able to afford it, even at this heavy discount.”

“Taking away homes for social housing is bad news.”

As reported in the Oxford Mail, the Government is extending the Right to Buy scheme to apply to tenants of housing associations as well as council tenants.

Housing association tenants who have lived in a house for three to five years will be entitled to a 35 per cent discount, which increases by one per cent each additional year, to a maximum discount of £77,900 outside London.

For tenants living in flats, the discount starts at 50 per cent, rising by two per cent a year after five years.

The scheme will be funded by a new requirement for local authorities to sell their “high-value” council houses as they become vacant. The proceeds will be used to compensate the housing associations for having to sell their properties to tenants at a discount.

Mr Peacock said most housing association tenants did not have the money to buy their own homes outright, as about half of Soha’s tenants relied on housing benefits.

Soha, which owns more than 6,000 properties in South Oxfordshire, Oxford and Swindon, estimates it would initially be forced to sell between 50 and 100 properties a year under the new scheme, but that number would dwindle over time.

However, Soha’s declining asset base meant it would be more difficult for the housing association to secure mortgages to build new homes. Soha builds about 300 new homes a year, a third of which are part-owned by tenants.

Mr Peacock criticised the Government for compelling housing associations, which, like Soha, are mostly charities, to offload their properties, saying the scheme “forces them to sell off their assets”.

Andrew Smith, the Labour MP for Oxford East, said: “This policy is very bad news for housing associations and those in need of their accommodation. They are independent organisations and it is draconian for the Government to be forcing sales upon them, which will hit their asset base, thereby reducing the capital they have as security for borrowing to build new homes.”

Mr Peacock said it was doubtful whether Oxford City Council, which is the only local authority in Oxfordshire that owns council housing, could raise enough money through selling homes to fully compensate the local housing associations.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “As high-value council homes become empty they should be sold to fund new affordable house-building in the same area.”

“Extending Right to Buy level discounts to over a million housing association tenants, with the homes sold replaced with new affordable homes.

“This is part of our wider efforts to help anyone who works hard and wants to own their own home achieve their dream.”