Andy Burnham has got it wrong on the sell off of council homes - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Alan Mumby, Leeds.

I listened with interest to Andy Burnham's comments at the Labour conference regarding council housing and proposals to retain newly built social homes in public ownership rather than allowing them to be sold through Right to Buy.

Any commitment to increasing the supply of affordable homes should be welcomed. However, the debate too often focuses on Right to Buy as the primary cause of today's housing crisis.

The reality is that a home sold under Right to Buy does not disappear. It remains occupied by a family, often one that has achieved home ownership for the first time. For many people who bought in the 1980s and 1990s, the policy offered opportunities that would otherwise have been out of reach.

What receives far less attention is the condition of much of the housing stock that remains. Across Leeds and many other cities, some tenants continue to live with damp, mold, poor insulation and ageing properties that have suffered from years of inadequate investment and neglect. Cases regularly emerge where improvement works take years to materialise and, when they finally do, residents can be left coping with lengthy disruption, poor communication and below average workmanship that falls below expectations.

Increasing housing supply is clearly important, but so is maintaining the homes we already have. Tenants deserve warm, safe and well-maintained properties, regardless of whether they rent from the council or own their home or if they rely on housing benefits or pay the full rent themselves.

Rather than turning the housing debate into a political argument about policies introduced decades ago, politicians of all parties should focus on delivering more homes, improving existing stock and ensuring public money is spent effectively for the benefit of current and future residents.