Newsbrief: Housing failure

A government scheme encouraging council tenants to buy their homes has been a spectacular failure in London, according to a report published today.

Only seven council homes out of 650,000 in the capital have been purchased through the Government's rent-to-mortgage initiative, says a survey conducted by the Association of London Authorities. Tenants either found the scheme far too complicated, were not eligible, or realised they could be landed with huge repayments if they sold up, says the report, 'No Takers, The Failure of the Government's Rent-to-Mortgage Scheme.