A pilot programme using money from Right to Buy sales to bolster council housing stock is set to be extended through an additional £13million property purchase scheme.

Southampton City Council’s cabinet members approved using up to £5million to buy 24 properties in the current financial year back in October.

A report presented to cabinet members on Tuesday, January 28, said the £5million pilot was anticipated to secure a block of 17 new build flats, three second-hand houses and three second-hand bungalows.

These homes will be used for families in need of temporary accommodation, reducing the reliance on expensive hotels and bed and breakfast rooms.

The Labour cabinet supported a recommendation to extend the pilot programme by spending a further £13.085 million of Right to Buy receipts collected between 2019/20 and 2023/24.

This is only possible through temporary flexibilities granted by government, which currently expire at the end of the next financial year.

The scheme, which would be up against the deadline of March 31, 2026, will go to full council for final approval on February 25.

Cllr Andy Frampton, cabinet member for housing, said every property purchased would deliver annual savings of £27,375, meaning there was potential to deliver overall estimated savings of £1.45 million a year.

“Homelessness has a profound human cost, particularly to families living in bed and breakfasts,” Cllr Frampton said.

“These environments offer a lack of space, privacy and stability needed for children to thrive.

“The uncertainty and the disruption can lead to emotional distress, affecting their mental health, education and development.

“Frequent moves and cramped conditions can leave children feeling isolated, struggling to form friendship and falling behind in school.

“This instability can also strain family’s relationships, exacerbating the stress already felt by parents trying to navigate an uncertain future.”

Under Right to Buy, eligible council tenants can purchase their local authority-owned property with a significant discount.

Money received from these sales is held by the council, with the opportunity to spend it on re-providing affordable homes within a set timeframe.

The temporary flexibilities introduced by the Labour government allow 100 per cent of retained receipts to be spent on replacement affordable housing, with no cap on the percentage that can be delivered as acquisitions.

As of October, Southampton City Council had 172 households in temporary accommodation, with a further 150 households in emergency accommodation waiting to be moved into temporary accommodation.

Conservative group leader Cllr Peter Baillie said if the council had addressed the large number of void properties – empty council homes – the authority would have been less reliant on expensive emergency accommodation.

He said buying 53 privately-owned or housing association-owned homes did not change the overall number of residential properties in the city.

“All you are doing is just shuffling the owners, so we are not increasing the number of housing stock we have got in Southampton,” Cllr Baillie said.

“You are just changing the owners. Let’s not be under a misapprehension that you are actually adding to housing stock.

“The housing stock remains the same, it has just got different owners.”