by Lamiat Sabin

THE true failure of Right to Buy was laid bare yesterday as housing charity Shelter revealed that Greater Manchester had replaced only two of 863 homes sold since 2012.

Two neighbouring semi-detached houses in a Wigan suburb are the only legacy of the homes sold for a song to local council tenants.

But the Queen is set to announce in her speech tomorrow an extension of Right to Buy to 1.3 million housing association households that will lead to even scarcer public housing.

Householders will be handed sweeteners of up to 70 per cent off market prices to coax secure or assured tenants into taking out mortgages.

Greater Manchester’s “experience should set off screaming alarm bells about what may happen under the new scheme,” said Shelter policy officer John Bibby.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark reiterated old Tory promises yesterday that each building would be replaced with another and that there would be no net reduction in homes.

After sales, the government would have to compensate housing associations, private registered social landlords, for the shortfall between the Right to Buy prices and what the properties would fetch on the open market.

The costs are to be funded by £4.5 billion from local authorities selling off the most expensive council homes when they become vacant, but on the open market rather than directly to tenants.

However, the Treasury is served a huge slice of the pie after a home is sold. It has taken £358m from £1.54bn in Right to Buy receipts since 2012.

In 2012, around £588m was set aside for home building, but only 4,500 replacements have been started in three years, with at least 22,900 properties shifting from public into private ownership.

“This isn’t simply a question of local government not playing ball,” said Mr Bibby.

“It stems from the way the replacement scheme has been designed. To put it bluntly, the government has tried to squeeze too much out of too small an amount of money.”

And similar situations to Manchester exist elsewhere, Shelter said.

Greedy landlords let 40 per cent of the 5,874 ex-council homes in Tory borough Wandsworth, London.

At least 977 of the Wandsworth landlords own more than one former council home. One owns a scandalous 93 properties and 16 own 10 or more.