Around 425,000 council tenants have exercised their right-to-buy their council homes over the last nine years, spending a collective £15.7bn, according to research by Connells Survey and Valuation.

They have benefited from discounts totalling £10.3bn. In the last year, 16,896 became home owners spending £1.15bn. The numbers are much smaller today than in the past, as new rules have restricted eligibility and reduced the discounts that tenants receive. The peak year was 2003/4 when almost 70,000 families stepped on to the housing ladder by buying their council homes.

The average discount has fallen by almost half from 50% a decade ago to 27% this year, but there is huge regional variability. The highest discounts available are in the North West with 34%, and in London they are lowest, at just 14%.

Ross Bowen, Connells Survey and Valuation’s managing director, said: “ In the late eighties and early nineties, right-to-buy provided an opportunity for many families to get onto the property ladder. But as the political climate changed, councils have reduced the discounts available in an effort to retain levels of social housing stock and stop what some see as profiteering.
“Nonetheless, thousands are still benefiting from these schemes but they need to be careful. There are some pitfalls associated with ex-local authority properties which they should be aware of.”