DOZENS of ex-council houses sold under Right to Buy have been repurchased in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, new figures show.

Right to Buy legislation allows people renting local authority-owned homes to buy them at a discounted rate.

But RADAR analysis of freedom of information requests shows many councils have ended up buying back properties they had previously sold at a discount through the scheme – with £1.7 billion spent across England.

More than a billion of this has been spent since the start of 2020. It is difficult to say whether home-buying has intensified over this time period, as many councils did not provide figures from more than five or 10 years ago.

The figures show Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has bought back 65 homes it had previously sold under the Right to Buy legislation, including 25 bought since 2020.

Across England, 8,600 homes sold under Right to Buy have been subsequently purchased by local authorities, 5,900 of them since 2020.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director at the Institute of Public Policy Research think tank, said: "The scale of councils selling off properties, only to buy them back a few years later, highlights the absurdity of the austerity years – selling low, buying high, short-term savings at the expense of long-term costs, penny-wise but pound-foolish."

The data comprises freedom of information responses from 117 councils, 111 of which were able to provide data on how much they had spent.

Cllr Claire Holland, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said councils legally have to sell housing stock at a significantly discounted price – starting at 35 per cent for houses and 50 per cent for flats. Councils have a right of first refusal if the buyer wants to sell, but this is "invariably more than what they originally sold it for".

The LGA has urged reform of Right to Buy, including one-to-one replacement of lost housing stock, councils retaining 100 per cent of sales receipts, being able to set discounts locally, and excluding new builds from the scheme.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We will deliver the biggest increase in social housing and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

"This Government will work with in partnership with councils so that together we can build the homes this country desperately needs."