The Tory housing crisis continues to have a real and serious impact on local people in Islington. Rising rents, insecure tenancies and dodgy landlords mean renting a home in the private sector has become more difficult than ever before.  

We know that good-quality, long-term council homes are the best way out of the housing crisis but Margaret Thatcher’s right to buy policy has seen council stock of housing completely decimated. 

Local authorities simply cannot build new affordable homes at the same speed as they are being sold. 

That is why Islington’s Labour-run Council has announced that it will be buying back another 310 much-needed ex-council homes. All of the homes were sold under the national right-to-buy policy and will be a mix of 1-, 2-, 3- and 4- bedroom properties.  

This announcement makes the Council’s buy-backs programme the largest in the country.  

Cllr Una O’Halloran, Executive Member for Homes and Communities, said “It is at the core of our Labour-run Council to create a more equal Islington. We want everyone in our wonderful borough to have a safe, decent and genuinely affordable place to call home. These homes will provide a secure base for those who are experiencing homelessness or have had to flee conflict to start rebuilding their lives here in Islington.”