Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil today branded the effects of Right to Buy legislation on numbers of homes for rent as a 'dreadful legacy' for housing in Scotland.

He was responding to a Shelter Scotland report which shows that the number of housing association and council homes for rent is at its lowest for 50 years.

Between 1980 and 2005 nearly 450,000 homes for social rent were sold at a discount in Scotland as a result of Right to Buy.

Reforms proposed in the draft Housing (Scotland) Bill would end the Right to Buy for new social housing tenants, and incentivise local authorities to build council homes for the first time in a generation.

He also detailed steps being taken by the Scottish Government to boost the number of affordable homes in Scotland such as investing record amounts in affordable housing, more than £1.5 bn over three years, despite the tightest settlement from Westminster since devolution.

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The government will be approving grants for a record breaking 8,100 affordable homes, backed this year by £675m.

A sum of £50m will be used to kick-start the largest council house building programme for 30 years.

Mr Neil said: "This Government agrees with Shelter that Right to Buy has been a disaster for the provision of low cost social housing for rent. It has acted as a disincentive to construct replacement properties and Scotland has been left with a dreadful legacy.

"Between 1980 and 2005 nearly 450,000 homes for social rent were sold at a discount as a result of Right to Buy, without being replaced by new properties. That is a shameful statistic."

"We intend, through the draft Housing (Scotland) Bill, to make sure that the mistakes of the past are dispatched to history safeguarding social rented housing for future generations.

"Although we may not agree with their numbers, we do agree with Shelter that more affordable homes are required. That is why this Government is working with local authorities, housing associations and the house building industry and spending more than ever, delivering thousands of homes that people can afford," he said.

The proposed changes to Right to Buy will encourage social landlords to build more new properties whilst allowing tenants to retain existing Right to Buy entitlements.

Over a 10 year period these reforms should retain between 10,000 and 18,000 properties in the social housing sector that otherwise would be sold through Right to Buy.

See: Scotland's Affordable Homes Hit 50 Year Low

(GK/JM)