England to sell eight times more council homes than it built last year, report finds

Depletion of social housing stock spurs calls for councils to have first refusal to buy ex-council homes entering market

England will sell off more than eight times as many council homes in 2025-26 as were constructed the previous year, research has found.

Right to buy is depleting council housing stock more quickly than public housing can be replaced, forcing people to spend more money on private market rents and obtain less secure tenancies, a report from the thinktank Common Wealth finds.