Social Housing Bill: Govt must be far more ambitious and allow councils to “end the sale of council houses”

EMBARGO: 22:30 Sunday 31st May 2026

Social Housing Bill: Govt must be far more ambitious and allow councils to “end the sale of council houses”

Responding to the Government's new outline for the Social Housing Bill, promising increased support for victims of domestic abuse and more tightened right to buy rules, Gideon Amos MP,  Liberal Democrat Housing and Planning Spokesperson, said:

“We wholeheartedly welcome the increased protections for tenants that are victims of domestic abuse. This change was long overdue.

“The Government's plan to protect the declining council housing stock will be like trying to fill the bath with the plug taken out - they need to go further and allow councils to end the sale of council houses wherever they’re in short supply.

“Labour should be far more ambitious and adopt the Liberal Democrat target of 150,000 social homes per year, ditch their developer-led weakening of protections for nature and listen to the public’s voice in the planning system.”

ENDS