Right to Buy … time to move? Investigating the moving behaviour of right to buy owners in the UK

Summary

Part of the political argument in favour of the right to buy (RTB) was
that it would stimulate the economy by encouraging the inter-regional
mobility of those in public sector housing. This is the first study to
examine whether RTB-owners are indeed more mobile than those in social
housing. Using longitudinal data from the British household panel survey
and panel regression models we show that the probability of a RTB-owner
making a long distance move falls between that of social renters and
owner occupiers. However, the difference between RTB-owners and
homeowners or social renters is not significant. Social renters are
significantly less likely to move over long distances than traditional
owners. The results also suggest that RTB-owners are less likely than
traditional owners to move for job related reasons, but more likely than
social renters.