Some 14,275 council homes were sold under the Right to Buy scheme in England during 2025-26, an increase of 90% compared to 2024-25, reported by local authorities.

Local authorities received £1.61 billion from eligible Right to Buy sales during 2025-26, an increase of 99.6% compared with 2024-25. 

The average receipt per dwelling was £112,900, an increase of 5% compared to 2024-25.

But only 3,452 replacement homes were funded through Right to Buy receipts from eligible sales during 2025-26, a decrease of 7% compared with 2024-25.

Since the start of the Right to Buy scheme in 1980, until the end of March this year, there have been over two million sales to tenants (2,052,813).

This may make uncomfortable reading or new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who made tackling the shortage of social housing a major plank in his campaign to replace Sir Kier Starmer.

There are proposed reforms to overhaul the Right to Buy scheme under the Social Housing Bill, currently going through Parliament. 

Potential buyers currently need just three years as a public sector tenant to quality, but this is planned to rise to 10 years under the new reforms. 

On top of this, to shield housing stock, newly built social homes will be protected from the scheme for 35 years, alongside an exclusion of ‘hard-to-replace’ rural homes and an adjustment to discounts on market value. 

A third reading of the Bill is expected next month and it may become law by the end of the year. 

The suggested changes to Right to Buy could cause a rush for tenants to buy their home in the months ahead, says Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare. 

She says: “Overall, the planned reforms and limited housing stock will still mean some tenants are forced to rent privately if they need to settle at a specific location for work or family reasons. 

“Alongside this, those who have saved over recent years and are now finally ready to get a mortgage will be disappointed that mortgage rates have been climbing amid prolonged unrest in the Middle East, adding around £215 a year in mortgage repayments in just one month of volatility.”