MORE than 1,300 council houses worth in excess of £87 million have been sold in six years for just £55 million.

New figures show tenants have bought 1,326 houses from Stoke-on-Trent City Council since 2005, with some homes being sold for just 30 per cent of their market value.

A total of 696 homes were sold with the Government's maximum discount of £26,000.

The sales rack up a total loss of almost £32 million to taxpayers, but it means thousands of tenants have been offered a way on to the property ladder.

The figures have emerged as the authority is consulting on cuts of £24 million, following £35.6 million of cuts in 2010/11.

The homes were sold under the Government's Right To Buy scheme, which offers tenants the chance to purchase their homes at a discount.

Government plans will allow councils to offer discounts of up to £50,000 on their properties to open the scheme to thousands more tenants.

The average discount is 42 per cent. Savings include:

A council house valued at £80,000 and sold for £54,000, a 32.5 per cent saving;

A house valued by the council at £71,000 but sold for £45,000, a 36 per cent saving;

A flat worth £19,000 sold to tenants for just £5,700, a 70 per cent saving.

Dorothy Meigh, of Townsend, below, bought her council house for £11,500 in the 1990s.

She would have been paying £250-per-month in rent at present rates, but instead she has already paid off the £100-per-month mortgage. The 76-year-old said: "We wouldn't have been able to afford a mortgage without Right To Buy – unless we had a big win or something.

"If the Government is going to let more people buy their houses it's a good thing, as long as they're at the right price."

A council surveyor assesses the value of a property following a Right To Buy application, and a discount is applied based on the amount of time they have been a tenant.

Three quarters of the money raised goes back to the Government, while the council receives a 25 per cent cut.

From next year, the council will become responsible for paying for house building and maintenance using cash raised from rent. Officers have warned that a huge take-up on right to buy could leave a shortage of cash for maintaining the city's 19,000 properties.

Val Bourne, the council's assistant director of housing services, said: "Right To Buy changes could affect our business plan and we'll have to manage that."

The council is currently building 17 two-bedroomed bungalows in Chell Heath at a cost of £884,000 – the first new council homes built in at least six years.

Councillor Gwen Hassall, cabinet member for housing and neighbourhoods, said: "There are significant challenges in the housing industry but, despite this, delivering new housing is a priority in the city."

Comment: Page 10