MORE council homes were replaced than sold through the government's Right to Buy scheme in Brighton and Hove last year, figures suggest.

Last year, 23 council homes were privatised through Right to Buy by Brighton and Hove City Council – down from 42 in 2019.

But this bucked the national trend according to data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Councils are expected to replace council homes on a one-for-one basis, and the council acquired or began construction on 40 replacements in 2020.

This makes it one of just a few dozen councils throughout England to do so.

Right to Buy was introduced in 1980 to help council and housing association tenants buy their home at a discount.

The maximum level of the discount was raised in 2012 and now stands at £84,600 outside London.

Across England, 94,000 homes have been sold through Right to Buy since then, with just 31,000 (33 per cent) replacement houses acquired or started.

As of April 1, councils can use 40 per cent of the receipts from properties sold to cover the cost of replacements.

However, they can now instead use the cash to fund schemes to help people buy houses – either through shared ownership or the discounted First Homes scheme for first-time buyers.

The council collected £3.3 million through the scheme last year, contributing to £53 million raised since 2012.