Housing Minister Grant Shapps published final details of a revamped Right to Buy, which will significantly increase the discounts for two million social tenants in England.
For years, the discounts available under Right to Buy have steadily declined. Take-up has also fallen off - with fewer than 3,700 sales were made last year compared to a peak of 84,000 less than 10 years ago.
The Government has made a commitment that everyone should have the chance to own their own home. So, from April 2012 tenants could benefit from a discount of up to £75,000, more than quadrupling the discount cap in London and trebling it in most other parts of the country.
The Minister said the new Right to Buy would see no reduction in the number of affordable homes, with any additional homes bought under the scheme leading directly to the provision of new affordable homes for rent.
Councils will be able to sign an agreement with the Government for using the receipts from sales to build new affordable homes in their area. The receipts will only need to meet 30% of the costs, mirroring the funding model used for the Affordable Homes programme.
Where receipts are not used locally, they will be passed to the Greater London Authority and the Homes and Communities Agency, who will re-invest the money in new affordable housing across the country.