ABSTRACT
Until the mid-1960s the numbers of council houses sold by local authorities under their then discretionary powers fluctuated at fewer than 4,000 a year. There have been two phases in which the rate of sales has been considerably greater than in this pioneering phase. There was an explosion of sales in the years 1971–3. But by far the greatest increase has been in the period since 1977. The unprecedentedly high sales of 1980 were exceeded in 1981, and in 1982 this record level was almost doubled (see Table 6.1). Since 1982 sales have been in decline but remain nevertheless far in excess of levels achieved when local authorities were able to exercise discretion in this policy. These levels of sales were achieved against a background of declining new council building. As Figure 6.1 demonstrates the earlier phases of high council house sales coincided with relatively high rates of new building. Even in 1972 when new building in England and Wales fell below 80,000 the council sector was still growing. Figures referring to other additions to the local authority stock (acquisitions) and to other losses (eg slum clearance) show that by 1980 the council sector was in absolute decline. The major factors in this decline involve the relative levels of sales and of new completions. This decline has occurred alongside a continued decline in the number of dwellings rented from private landlords. The rented sector as a whole has been in decline since 1979 and was also in decline in 1972–3 (Forrest and Murie, 1984a; b).
