Council house tenants on benefits are being “gifted” money so that they can afford to buy their homes under Right to Buy. In some cases, they buy at discounts of up to £100,000.
The companies that lend them the money then buy the homes and sell them on at enormous profits to private landlords.
The revelations were in a BBC Inside Out London programme this week, which featured estate agent Matthew Fine, of Hunters.
He said that ex-council house properties which were once not in demand were now considered highly desirable.
The programme said that one property had been acquired quite recently for £48,000 under Right to Buy and was now on the market for over £1m.
Over 20% of Right to Buy applicants in Westminster were on benefits, said the programme – begging the question as to how they could afford to buy. Anyone with over £16,000 in savings is not eligible for housing benefit.
Fraudulent purchases under the scheme had risen 400% in two years in the borough, it claimed. Last summer, a property company had leafleted 60,000 council house tenants offered six-figure sums if the tenants would work with the company to buy the properties and then sell them.
Such schemes are not illegal.
Westminster councillor Lindsey Hall, said: “I passionately believe Right to Buy needs to stay, but it needs to be very tightly managed and not fuelling a property bonanza for individuals swanning around estates in grand Mercedes and BMWs.”
People who promote and support such schemes should hold no negative opinion whatever on the financial crisis, investment banks and bank bonuses. This is much the same thing.
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More on this here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04pc2zz
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Must tell my Mum I was famous for 2 minuets
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