Law to scrap right to buy to be proposed by Welsh Government

Tenants' rights to buy their own council homes would be scrapped under a proposed new law by the Welsh Government.

Cardiff council became the latest authority to suspend its right-to-buy for five years on Thursday, in a bid to tackle the city's housing need.

Government ministers will propose a new law amounting to a Wales-wide ban on the scheme in the assembly next month.

Welsh Labour previously said it wanted to protect social housing stock.

Currently, most social housing tenants in Wales have the right-to-buy their home after five years and receive a discount of £8,000 on the value.

Last year, 359 properties in Wales were bought under the scheme out of a total of more than 200,000 properties in the social housing sector.

An aerial view of Cardiff

On Thursday, Cardiff council's cabinet approved plans to suspended the scheme, a flagship policy of Margaret Thatcher, for five years.

Cardiff's decision will need to be formally rubber-stamped by the Welsh Government before it can be implemented.

Anglesey, Carmarthenshire and Swansea have already stopped the policy, while Flintshire and Denbighshire have submitted their plans to ministers.