Cornwall Council is reminding people who have bought properties under the government’s Right to Buy scheme that there are legal restrictions on what they can do with their properties.

Cllr Andrew Mitchell said: ‘Council houses were built with public money to provide affordable homes for local people.  It is not right that they should then be used to make a profit or sold on to people who do not have a local connection. Especially as the discount on the purchase price under Right to Buy is significant and the Council will not have received enough money from the sale to be able to build a replacement home.’

Owners should not be renting them out as holiday lets or to students or making significant alterations.  In rural areas there are also restrictions on who the property can be bought by or rented to in the future as, in many cases, there must be a Cornwall connection.

The Council can take legal action against anyone who is not abiding by the legal restrictions.