An investigation by magazine Inside Housing revealed that almost £500,000 of this outlay was on direct marketing to tenants in 62 English local authority areas advertising the increased discounts.
Speaking to the publication Paul Price, executive director for communities at Tendring Council in Essex, said: “Most council tenants are intelligent enough to know the Right to Buy is out there.
“Why do they [CLG] think that council tenants are going to have a different view to the general population about whether or not it’s a good time to buy? They are looking at the mortgage market like anyone else.”
He added: “I don’t think it’s the best way to spend money at all.”
Other critics of the marketing campaign said constraints within the mortgage market were the reason behind tenants not wishing to purchase their homes, not a lack of awareness of their right to do so.
