A NEW website set up to help council and social housing tenants find out how to buy their homes has been launched by Stevenage MP Stephen McPartland. The free online service, www.righttobuystevenage.com, has the support of Housing Minister Mark Prisk MP as it aims to raise awareness of the Government’s reinvigorated Right To Buy scheme.

Anyone signing up will be given advice on the support available to those looking to purchase their council property, with discounts of up to £75,000 available to eligible applicants.

Stephen said, "Housing is a big issue in Stevenage, especially as Stevenage Borough Council is raising rents faster than anyone else in Hertfordshire and providing a poor service. Many tenants are just fed up with a Council that does not care about them and want a way out. Well now they have a chance to own their home and help local people at the same time, because the money will be used to build more social and affordable housing, so it is a great deal for everyone."

Mark Prisk, MP and Minister for Housing, added, "We have learnt from the lessons of the 80s when this was first introduced.The campaign is important because local people can really benefit from the Right to Buy scheme and many just don’t know about it. People who have started on low income housing and would like the chance to buy their home can, and the money made goes back into building new houses. It’s a great scheme of growth."

For more information on the Right To Buy scheme, go to www.righttobuystevenage.com.

The scheme is open to tenants who have rented public sector-owned accommodation for at least five years and do not own any other properties. Anyone with outstanding possession orders against them or legal problems with debt are not eligible to apply.