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You and Yours: Right to buy, Traidcraft, Pub tenants

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Right to buy, Traidcraft, Pub tenants

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Right to buy, Traidcraft, Pub tenants

Housing association tenants in the Midlands offered the chance to buy their home.

Three thousand housing association tenants in the Midlands have been offered the chance to buy their home through a new pilot scheme. We examine how it will work in practice.

A new scheme offering housing association tenants the chance to buy their home was launched this month. Voluntary Right to Buy will allow tenants in the Midlands to purchase a property at a discounted rate. After entering a ballot, successful tenants were told last week if they would be able to participate.  9,000 people entered the ballot and around 3,000 are expected to be able to buy. We examine how the scheme will work in practice.

Traidcraft claims to be the first company to have introduced fairly traded products like tea and coffee to the UK but it's now at risk of going out of business.  Sales total around £10m a year, but the Chief Executive says they're making a loss and may need to stop trading altogether. A final decision is expected within weeks. We investigate why the company is struggling at a time when many others have done very well at selling their ethical credentials.   

Legislation introduced in 2016 was designed to make things easier for people running pubs. Many pubs are run by tenants, who rent the pub from a company, often a brewery. They pay lower than market rents, but they have to buy all their beer from the company that owns the pub. Many tenants complained that they were struggling to compete and survive, so new rules gave them the option of 'breaking the tie' with the pub owning company.  But two years later, only 53 pub tenants have successfully done so. We speak to a tenant who has broken the tie, but it cost them over £50,000 to do so. 

Presented by Shari Vahl.
Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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