On 8 August 1980, the Housing Act received royal assent, enacting the “right to buy’’ for council house tenants – one of the flagship policies of Margaret Thatcher’s first Conservative government.

The legislation, which came into force on 3 October 1980, created the opportunity for millions of public sector tenants to purchase their homes at heavily discounted prices.

The act’s long title stated its purpose as “to give security of tenure, and the right to buy their homes, to tenants of local authorities and other bodies”. It applied to council house tenants who had lived in their homes for at least three years; these tenants were given the legal right to buy the property they lived in, with discounts starting at 33% and increasing with the length of tenancy, up to a maximum of 50%.

The policy is today seen as a defining policy of Thatcherism. It aimed to foster a “property-owning democracy”, underpinned by the ideological understanding that home ownership fosters aspiration, independence, and responsibility – central tenets of Thatcherism.

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Increasing home ownership was the fourth of the “five tasks” outlined by the Conservatives in their 1979 election manifesto. Thatcher’s party vowed to “support family life, by helping people to become home-owners, raising the standards of their children’s education, and concentrating welfare services on the effective support of the old, the sick, the disabled and those who are in real need.”

The Conservative Party further pledged to “give council and new town tenants the legal right to buy their homes”.

In her 1980 conference speech, Thatcher referred to the vision of a “property-owning democracy”.

She stated: “It was Anthony Eden who chose for us the goal of ‘a property-owning democracy’.

“But for all the time that I have been in public affairs that has been beyond the reach of so many, who were denied the right to the most basic ownership of all – the homes in which they live.”

The Housing Act was spearheaded by Michael Heseltine as environment secretary.

Addressing the commons on 15 January 1980, Heseltine described the proposals as “perhaps as profound a social revolution as any in our history” and the single greatest “transfer of so much capital wealth from the state to the people.”

He said right to buy would “transform the personal prospects of millions of our citizens, offering to turn them at their wish from tenants to owners.”

Heseltine added: “It will establish their rights as individuals above the bureaucracies of the state. It will come to be seen among the finest traditions and philosophies of the Conservative Party.”

The 1980 act led to a surge in sales. In November 1982, the Thatcher government said more than 400,000 people had bought their council homes. Between 1979 and 1996, 2.2 million house sales were recorded by local authorities, new town corporations and housing associations.

Right to buy was followed by the Housing Defects Act 1984, which introduced a scheme to help owners who had purchased “designated defective” types of property from a public authority. It provided for a 90% grant towards the cost of repairing defects.

The Housing and Building Control Act 1984 increased the right to buy discount to a maximum of 60% after 30 years tenancy. The Housing and Planning Act 1986 increased discounts for flats to 44% after two years, reaching a maximum of 70% after 15 years.

Charitable housing associations tenants were excluded under the terms of 1980 act, following amendments passed in the House of Lords. The Housing Act 1996 introduced a less generous “right to acquire” for housing association tenants.

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Right to buy was initially opposed by the Labour Party and many local authorities.

Upon its announcement in 1979, shadow environment spokesperson Roy Hattersley responded: “We shall fight it very hard in the House of Commons and in the country.”

Addressing the commons in January 1980, Hattersley referred to the proposals as “superficial, meretricious, class-conscious [and] uncaring”.

Critics warned that it would lead to a depletion of the social housing stock, particularly the most desirable properties. Heseltine dismissed these concerns, voiced by a series of Labour MPs, as a “narrow doctrinal argument”.

But Labour dropped its opposition to right to buy ahead of the 1987 general election.

The party’s 1987 election manifesto vowed to “maintain the right to buy”.

The long-term consequences of the act remain highly debated. Right to buy led to a surge in homeownership; however, it has been criticised for contributing to the decline in the availability of council housing.