A government think tank has suggested that the most expensive social housing in the most expensive regions should be sold off in order to make money that can be used to build more housing in under-privileged areas.
Alarmingly, research showed that approximately 1 in 5 social housing properties have a value more than the average house price in that area. This is equivalent to more than 800,000 properties, and a think tank has said that selling these homes would raise a staggering £4.5bn. The report suggested that the money raised should go straight back into building property and that it would be enough to build 170,000 social homes a year.
Approximately 3.5% of these expensive social houses become vacant every single year and the report says that this is the ideal time to sell it off in order to raise additional cash; money which can then be used to pay for additional, cheaper housing.
The ideas have met with scrutiny and praise in equal measure. Housing Minister Grant Shapps has described the plan as blindingly obvious.
Other findings in the report state that spending guidelines should be introduced that will help ensure stock-quality standards are driven higher. Shapps went on to say that it makes sense to use social housing stock as efficiently as possible and that it was merely leftwing dogma that was preventing this new plan from already being implemented.