Image Source: Plunkett Foundation

Disclaimer Senedd Home is an independent website and isn't affiliated or associated with Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament.

This site is best when in landscape or desktop mode on smartphones.

Senedd Home was mothballed for five long years because of a lack of support. Don’t let it happen again. This site doesn’t receive any public funding or subsidy. If you believe I’m trying something new here or like what’s being done, consider a donation. One-off or monthly; as little or as much as you want.
Click the links below, or full details are available here.

Community Right to Buy

Is this devolved to Wales?

Where is this happening?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

Charts (if needed)

Example Title

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris tempus nisl vitae magna pulvinar laoreet. Nullam erat ipsum, mattis nec mollis ac, accumsan a enim. Nunc at euismod arcu. Aliquam ullamcorper eros justo, vel mollis neque facilisis vel.

Souce text, source text, source text.

£ 00 million Total

Cheese
Explanation
Etc

Who has raised this at the Senedd?

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

Elyn Stephens MS

Backbencher

Peredur Owen Griffiths MS

Senedd Commissioner

Sarah Cooper-Lesadd MS

Backbencher

Francesca O'Brien MS

Shadow Local Government Minister

Thomas Montgomery MS

Shadow Skills Minister

David Hughes MS

Backbencher

Jayne Bryant MS

Chair: Health & Social Care

Mike Hedges MS

Backbencher

Peter Fox MS

Backbencher

Paul Rock MS

Backbencher

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

Elyn Stephens MS

Backbencher

Peredur Owen Griffiths MS

Senedd Commissioner

Sarah Cooper-Lesadd MS

Backbencher

Francesca O'Brien MS

Shadow Local Government Minister

Thomas Montgomery MS

Shadow Skills Minister

David Hughes MS

Backbencher

Jayne Bryant MS

Chair: Health & Social Care

Mike Hedges MS

Backbencher

Peter Fox MS

Backbencher

Paul Rock MS

Backbencher

What are the party positions on this?

Plaid Cymru backbenchers support the policy, though some members want proper support put in place for smaller community groups to be able to take advantage of it if/when it becomes law.

I welcome this statement very much and the ambition to bring more assets into community ownership. We have seen how successful such enterprises can be in parts of Wales where there is a strong tradition of community ownership. But, in constituencies such as Afan Ogwr Rhondda, where that tradition is not as strong and where communities have fewer financial resources, perhaps, how can we ensure that communities who have the greatest need won't be the least likely to benefit from this?

Communities in Scotland and England have used this legislation to save village halls, chapels and pubs and to safeguard historical landmarks, but under successive Labour Governments, this hasn't been applied to our communities. It's no surprise that the Institute of Welsh Affairs has described communities in Wales as those that are least empowered in the 'Our Land' report published in 2022.

Reform UK MSs are generally opposed to the idea, believing there are too many possible impacts on property rights, and that the equivalent policy in Scotland is under review for being too complex.

Nobody in this Chamber wants to see the last pub in the village boarded up or a chapel left to rot. As somebody who's worked with asset transfers in a previous role as a councillor, I know dedicated, local people who've done a better job of running community facilities than the local council did, so I'm a big champion of community assets. But wanting to keep something is not the same as having a right to it….because while it might sound good on paper, we need to be careful when deciding our community heritage. –

Say a property owner owns a piece of land or an asset that is subject to the community right to buy, and it has been registered with the local authority. That effectively creates a restricted title on the property. That owner isn't able to sell it as freely as they could have. Say that owner doesn't want to sell the property, but wants to borrow capital from it, so they want to borrow based on the value of the asset that they own. My concern is that that owner may then be restricted or not able to borrow money at all, because a mortgage provider would be concerned about lending money on the back of an asset that has a restricted title.

Too often, communities watch valued pubs, chapels, sports clubs and historic buildings disappear while decisions are made without meaningful local input. We support the principle that communities should have a greater say over the future of important local assets. However, any scheme must be simple, transparent and affordable. It cannot become another layer of red tape that delays investment or places unnecessary burdens on property owners.

Labour MSs have broadly welcomed the policy, ableit depending on the details of how it would work in practice.

Community right to buy should be based on a simple principle: when valued community assets are put up for sale, local people should have a genuine opportunity to keep them in their communities. The legislation must break down barriers in the way of local purchase. Even where there's a legal opportunity, there can be significant challenges. Communities need to have the first right of refusal when an asset comes up for sale. They need to be provided with enough time to organise, and they require resource support to raise the necessary capital.

The Conservatives support Community Right to Buy in principle, but want to avoid unintended consequences.

Today's statement suggests the scheme would provide a period of exclusivity or a right of first refusal, giving community groups time to develop a business case, secure finance and explore ownership opportunities. Many of these objectives are consistent with our long-standing support for community ownership. Of course, as you just pointed out, there are questions of what could constitute a community group, for instance. However, our support for community empowerment must be accompanied by practical safeguards and clear answers to several important questions.

The Greens welcomed the policy, requesting that the Welsh Government learns from communities that have already introduced similar policies.

Scotland's introduction of the community right to buy shows that when the definition of community assets includes green open spaces, the social, environmental and well-being benefits are much greater than the sum of their parts. So, I'm delighted to see that land is included in the draft proposals. Implementation, of course, must also be practical, without placing undue burdens on volunteers working to unrealistic deadlines.

Jane Dodds hasn’t said anything on this specifically, but the Lib Dems included a Community Right to Buy in their 2026 Senedd election manifesto.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Who is responsible?

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

What have ministers said?

In all parts of Wales, buildings, land and other assets can play an important part in community life. They can bring people together, support local activity and help sustain a community's identity. But when an asset comes onto the market, communities can find themselves competing with other buyers before they have had a realistic opportunity to explore whether they could purchase it for community benefit. We want to empower communities and give them that opportunity before a valued asset, and the community benefit it provides, is lost.

The community right-to-buy scheme will complement existing arrangements for community asset transfer and placemaking in Wales, which will continue to operate. When there is community ambition and a viable proposal, we want communities to have a meaningful opportunity to act. That means getting both the legislation and the wider support right, so that community ownership can provide a sustainable future for valued assets and lasting benefits for communities across Wales.

What's being done about this?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What have the Senedd's Committees said?

Nothing has been discussed yet.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit.
Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat.
In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis.
Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor.
Pulvinar vivamus fringilla lacus nec metus bibendum egestas. Iaculis massa nisl malesuada lacinia integer nunc posuere. Ut hendrerit semper vel class aptent taciti sociosqu.
Ad litora torquent per conubia nostra inceptos himenaeos.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis.