A Cabinet Member delegated decision proposes using £3.4 million in Right to Buy (RtB) receipts (funds from the sale of council homes to tenants), to purchase leaseholder properties on the open market before a March 2026 deadline.
The purchased homes will be held in the council’s Housing Revenue Account (the ring-fenced account that records spending and income from council housing) and used either for families in temporary accommodation or allocated as secure council tenancies.
With more than 28,000 people currently on the housing waiting list, the council is taking this decisive action to make the best use of £3.4 million by making targeted, on-the-spot purchases of homes on its own estates. This means that rather than waiting for long development timelines, the council will act swiftly when suitable properties come up for sale.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Danny Adilypour, Deputy Leader of Lambeth Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, Investment and New Homes, said:
“Due to the failure of successive governments to fund, invest in or prioritise the maintenance and building of social housing, Lambeth, like the rest of London, is in the grip of one of the most severe social housing crises in the country, with demand for secure, affordable homes far exceeding supply.
“Buying back leaseholder properties on our estates is a practical and immediate way to increase the number of council homes available at social rent, reduce our reliance on costly temporary accommodation, and ensure more local families can access secure and stable housing.
“We are determined to make every pound of Right to Buy funds work as hard as possible for local residents.”
The council currently holds £47m in retained Right to Buy receipts, half of which is allocated to housing development projects. £3.4m of this funding will expire in March 2026 and must be spent before then.
Each acquisition will be independently valued to ensure best value for the council and taxpayers, and recent government changes now allow RtB receipts to fund 100% of the purchase price of social rented homes. This means the council can move quickly without the need for additional borrowing.
Despite Lambeth having successfully allocated almost 600 council and housing association tenancies between April 2024 and March 2025, there are still far more applicants than available homes. Lambeth currently relies heavily on nightly-paid temporary accommodation for 75% of homeless households, around double the level of similar boroughs. These placements are expensive and can vary in quality.
The planned buyback programme is part of the council’s wider programme of investment in housing supply. In October 2024, Lambeth secured £14.5 million from the Local Authority Housing Fund to purchase additional homes. Together, these initiatives will help reduce reliance on nightly-paid temporary accommodation and provide more stable, high-quality homes for local households. This aligns with the Lambeth 2030 Borough Plan, focusing on increasing the availability of high-quality housing and preventing homelessness.
