The United Kingdom Government has announced plans requiring councils and social housing providers to give eight weeks’ notice before selling social homes outside the social housing sector.
The proposed measure is contained in amendments to the Social Housing Bill announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on Monday.
Under the new requirement, councils and other social housing providers would have an opportunity to purchase social homes before they are sold to other buyers.
The government said the measure is aimed at protecting the supply of social housing and supporting efforts to prevent homelessness.
The amendments would also give councils powers to refer homeless households to private registered providers of social housing.
The government said the changes would strengthen cooperation between councils and housing associations, reduce reliance on temporary accommodation and improve access to housing for people in need.
The Bill will further introduce a Duty to Collaborate, requiring public services to work together to identify people at risk of homelessness and consider steps to prevent them from becoming homeless.
The government said it had committed £39 billion over 10 years through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme to support the delivery of new social and affordable housing.
It added that councils and housing associations would continue to play a key role in increasing housing supply and providing homes for local communities.
