With the Tory government pushing hard on expanding the coverage of the right to buy to housing association tenants, the House of Lords recently stalled that bid. In a report from theguardian.com, the Upper House of Parliament voted to include the right to buy provision in a crossbench amendment to the charities bill.

The charities bill is one measure being blocked at the House of Lords. The vote to include the right to buy as a crossover amendment resulted in 257 to 174, with the ayes taking it on the measure proposing that charities 'are not compelled to use or dispose of their assets in a way which is inconsistent with their charitable purposes.'

The inclusion of the right to buy in the charities bill comes as no surprise, as housing association often have the status of charities. The right to buy would allow tenants to purchase housing stocks at a discount. This has been criticized as an election related move despite the negative effects this proposal may have on the housing market, not just in London but throughout the country.

According to a report from insidehousing.co.uk, the Tory government is planning to put together a bill on Housing, which would include the controversial provision. The difference in the amount sold and the value of the stock would be compensated by the forced sale of empty council houses. Despite the crossover vote, there are many members of the House of Lords that have openly supported the measure. These include Labour peer Baroness Diane Hayter, Liberal Democrat Lord Monroe Palmer, crossbencher Lord Bob Kerslake and Lord Bishop of Rochester James Langstaff.

The government of David Cameron is heading for an election and has made the right to buy amendment one of the electoral issues. He declared, as quoted by harrodgateadviser.co.uk, "As the most expensive council properties fall vacant, we are going to require councils to sell them off- and we'll replace them with new affordable housing in the same area."

The reaction was swift, amongst them Independent Councilor Chris Lewis of Great Ouseburn raised her worries during last week's Harrogate Borough Council meeting. She said, "These government proposals to sell off the most valuable housing could see our council having to sell of even our smallest one bedroom flats, wouldn't that have a huge impact on our ability to provide homes?"