For whatever reason, some people simply do not want to buy. One of my Sisters-in-Law lives in a very nice "Council" property. She has been a "council" tenant since she was 21 (now 73). She could buy the property for less than the cost of a secondhand car (with relevant discounts etc), live in it, rent free, for the rest of her days, then leave (what is a £120,000 property) to her three sons. But, her rationale for not doing this is, she would have to take responsibility for looking after the "fabric" of the house.
I could have done with off loading it about 7/8 years ago to fund this money pit i'm in now. They have been there so long, I just didn't have the heart to give them notice or made them feel like they had to buy it.