Property industry calls for safeguards for owners in Community to Right Buy scheme

The government must put in place a series of safeguards that communities must satisfy in order to successfully list a property with the local authority under the proposed Community Right to Buy, the British Property Federation has demanded.

The BPF said there were fears that the scheme – contained in the Localism Bill – could be used to stifle development and economic growth with vexatious nominations to the council.

Its chief executive, Liz Peace, said: “Any community group wishing to purchase a community asset should have to prove their ability to raise the money for the purchase. Including this measure will help reduce incidence of vexatious applications and go some way towards providing peace of mind for property owners affected.”

The BPF warned that the scheme – the consultation for which closes today (4 May) – would also do little to save local services such as post offices and pubs from closure.

The federation pointed out that communities would only be able to list the building and not the services that operate from within it.

Peace said: “It is misleading of Government to portray the Community Right to Buy scheme as a mechanism for local communities to keep services open. If, for example, a local pub faces closure and the community manage to purchase it they would take ownership of the building and not the service. They would have to take on and organise this for themselves.

“As other provisions in the Localism Bill allow services run by local authorities to be taken over by communities using the Community Right to Challenge, you do have to question what the Community Right to Buy scheme brings to the table.”