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Who can apply for Right to Buy?

The Right to Buy scheme helps social tenants in England to buy their council home at a discount.

You can apply for Right to Buy if you’ve been a council or public sector tenant for five years (it doesn’t have to be five years in a row). You are a public sector tenant if you have lived in properties provided by a housing association, the armed services or a public body like an NHS trust.

You can make a ‘joint application’ to buy your home through Right to Buy with someone who shares the tenancy with you or with members of your family. They must have lived with you for the past 12 months.

You can’t buy through the scheme if:

• the property isn't your main home
  
• the property isn't self-contained (has a shared kitchen or bathroom)
  
• there's a court order saying you must leave your home
  
• you're an 'undischarged bankrupt'
  
• you're being declared bankrupt
  
• you owe money to creditors

Some properties won’t be sold through Right to Buy, eg if your home is suitable for housing the elderly. See the link 'Exceptions to Right to Buy' for more information.

• Exceptions to Right to Buy

• Bankruptcy - a guide

• Find out about Right to Buy from your council Opens new window

Right to Buy discounts

If you qualify for Right to Buy, you can get a discount on the market value of your home when you buy it. Your home’s market value is the price it would fetch if it was sold.

As of 2 April 2012, the discount has increased. Previously, the maximum discount ranged from £16,000 to £38,000, depending on where you lived. Now, the maximum discount is £75,000 for anywhere in England.

The discount you can get is based on:

• how long you've been a tenant
  
• where you live
  
• the type of property you're buying (a flat or a house)
  

If you've previously had a discount to help you buy a council home, this may be taken off your Right to Buy discount.

Check how much discount you could get by reading ‘Discounts available through Right to Buy’.

• Discounts available through Right to Buy

How to apply for Right to Buy

You have to go through a set process to buy your home under the Right to Buy scheme. Your landlord has an application form for the scheme, which you will need to complete. You can also download the form from the link below.

• Applying to buy your home through Right to Buy

• Download Right to Buy application form (RTB1) (PDF, 607K)

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has produced a simple summary leaflet and some more detailed guidance on Right to Buy. You can download them using the links below.

• Download Right to Buy summary (PDF, 279K) Opens new window

• Download Right to Buy guide (PDF, 189K) Opens new window

• Download guide to buying your council flat (PDF, 96K) Opens new window

Preserved Right to Buy

'Preserved Right to Buy' applies to some tenants who wouldn't normally qualify for Right to Buy. For example, if you are a tenant of a housing association, you don’t usually have the Right to Buy. However, you may have the Preserved Right to Buy if the council sold your home to another landlord, eg a housing association, while you were renting it. Your landlord can tell you if you have the Preserved Right to Buy.

Preserved Right to Buy works in a similar way to Right to Buy (you use the same form to apply through your landlord).

• Applying to buy your home through Right to Buy

Mortgages and others costs of buying through Right to Buy

Unless you can buy your home with cash, you'll need to borrow money through a mortgage.

Make sure you will have enough money to pay your mortgage each month and other bills like Council Tax. If you buy a flat, you’ll probably also have to pay a ‘service charge’ towards the upkeep of the whole building and repairs. If major repairs are needed, eg a new roof, the service charge could be thousands of pounds each year.

If you don’t pay your mortgage, your mortgage lender can take you to court and you could lose your home. And because you are no longer a tenant, the council doesn’t have to find you another home.

If you can't afford to buy your home through Right to Buy, you may still be able to buy a share of it through Social HomeBuy.

• Social HomeBuy - how it works

• Mortgages (money, tax and benefits section)

• Buying your home

Selling your Right to Buy home

If you sell your property within ten years of buying it, you must first offer it to your old landlord, eg the council, or another social landlord in the area.

Your home should be offered at the full sale price, which must be agreed between you and the landlord. If you can’t agree on the price for your home, a district valuer will say how much your home is worth and set the price. You won’t have to pay for their valuation. 

If the landlord doesn’t agree to buy your home within eight weeks, you can sell your home to anyone on the open market.

Problems or delays with Right to Buy

Most Right to Buy sales go through quickly, but sometimes there can be delays or problems. You can use the link below to find out about possible issues when buying your home through Right to Buy.

• Problems or delays when buying your council home through Right to Buy

More useful links

• Right to Buy on Facebook Opens new window

• Right to Buy legislation Opens new window

• Citizens Advice Bureau Opens new window

• Planning for buying a home

• Find your local council

Useful contacts

• Home and community contacts