Right to buy is a scheme which allows some Council tenants to buy their home at a discount. You must be asecure tenant to take advantage of the scheme
In certain circumstances, a secure tenant of a flat, maisonette or bungalow has the right to buy that property at a discounted price. The Right to Buy (RTB) is a national scheme, operating throughout England and Wales. The rules of the scheme are set by the Government.
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us any questions that you have; we are always happy to assist.
To qualify to claim the Right to Buy, you must be a secure tenant of a local authority and must have held a public sector tenancy for the number of years specified by the authority or council.
The local authority can still refuse a tenant from exercising his right to buy if the tenant is an undischarged bankrupt, or if there is a bankruptcy petition pending against the tenant or a receiving order is in force against him or where there is an active County Court Possession Order is in force against the tenant.
You can apply to buy your council home if:
- it’s your only or main home
- it’s self-contained
- you’re a secure tenant
- you’ve had a public sector landlord (eg a council, housing association or NHS trust) for 5 years – it doesn’t have to be 5 years in a row
Joint applications
- someone who shares your tenancy
- up to 3 family members who’ve lived with you for the past 12 months (even if they don’t share your tenancy)
Ex-council homes
If your home used to be owned by the council, but they sold it to another landlord (like a housing association) while you were living in it, you may still have the Right to Buy. This is called ‘Preserved Right to Buy’.
Ask your landlord if this applies to you, or speak to us about it.
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us any questions that you have; we are always happy to assist.
A
Secure Tenant is any individual, whose use of the premises is for residential purpose only and whose landlord is a public body such as local authorities. They are mostly tenants in social housing and Housing Association tenants. Only secure tenants benefit from the Right to Buy Scheme
By law a secure tenants have the right to stay in a property provided they keep to the tenancy conditions and they cannot be evicted unless a court grants an ‘order of possession’.
Here are some of the rights enjoyed by a Secured tenant:
- It is part of your right to be consulted about any changes to your tenancy agreement before it is made.
- Your husband, wife, civil partner or another close relative may be able to take over your tenancy if you die.
- You have the right to let part of your home (but not your entire home) to someone else if you ask for permission.
- You have the right to swap homes with another tenant of a housing authority.
- You have the right to repair and improve your home.
- You have the right to assign your tenancy
- You have the right to take in lodgers.
- You have the right to buy your home at a discounted price.
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us any questions that you have; we are always happy to assist.
If you decide to exercise your right to buy and your claim is admitted by the authority, the authority will arrange for the property that you live in to be individually valued. In normal circumstances, the purchase price that you will have to pay will be the amount the individual place you are residing was evaluated at, less the discount offered by law of the authority in question however the purchase price should not be lower than the building cost. In which case, the Building cost would be the minimum purchase price. Note that you can challenge your Right to Buy Valuation
The discount calculated is based on the number of years you have being a tenant but note that whatever percentage you are eligible for; your discount cannot be greater than maximum discount of £75,000 set by Office of Deputy Prime Minister.
If you decide to sell within five years of your Right to Buy purchase, you must pay back a percentage of the discount that you received. The amount to be repaid is calculated using a formula based on the price at which the property is resold.
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us any questions that you have; we are always happy to assist.
You are able to appeal against the Council’s valuation for your home if you are not happy with it. You will need to write to the Right to Buy section within the time period specified in your Section 125 offer notice requesting a District Valuer’s Appeal. (The time limits are strict , so make sure you comply with them)
The District Valuer will contact you and make an appointment to visit your home and then give an independent assessment.
It really can be worth it to request a district valuation if you think your home has been over valued by your Landlord. In more than a third of appeals (36%) the price of homes is cut by more than 10%, according to a study commissioned by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
What if I do not agree with the District Valuer’s valuation?
If you receive your Revised District Valuer’s Section 128 Offer Price notice and do not agree with the valuation, you can request another District Valuer’s appeal. You must make this request in writing to the Right to Buy section within 28 days of receiving your District Valuer’s revised offer.
Your Landlord also has the right to disagree with the District Valuer’s appeal and can ask for a review of the District Valuer’s valuation. The price the District Valuer puts on your home following this review will be the final price. This can stay the same or be higher or lower. This price is the final offer which you must accept or withdraw.
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us any questions that you have; we are always happy to assist.
When you complete your Right to Buy purchase, you stop paying rent to the local authority but there are a number of on-going costs associated with home ownership. When considering whether you can afford to buy through the scheme, bear in mind that you will have to make the following payments:-
- Mortgage Payments – This will occur if you have taken a mortgage to finance your purchase and if you have done so you must make your regular mortgage payments (usually each month). If you do not keep up your payments, you run the risk of losing your home and becoming homeless.
- Service Charges – if you buy a flat or maisonette, you have to pay service charges. These are charges that pay for the cost of the services provided to the block, e.g. repairs to the communal parts, caretaking, grass-cutting, the building insurance premium, the electricity supplied to the communal hallway, staircase etc. If the authority carries out major repairs to the block, e.g. putting on a new roof, you have to contribute a percentage of the costs, which may amount to several thousand pounds.
- Charges for Sewerage services and the supply of Water, Gas and Electricity – you are no doubt paying directly for some of these services while a tenant of the authority. When you buy your home, you become responsible for paying for all of them. It is advisable to contact each supplier to discuss the most appropriate payment method for you.
Council Tax – you remain responsible for paying your council tax to the appropriate authority
Insurance – as well as the buildings insurance premium, which you pay to the authority as part of your service charge, you need insurance to protect you in case you are unable to make your mortgage payments because of illness, unemployment, redundancy etc. This kind of insurance policy is often called a “mortgage protection policy”.
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us any questions that you have; we are always happy to assist.
After the tenant has become a home owner through exercising his Right to Buy, he has the right to sell the property purchased by him but to exercise this right he is subject to a number of conditions that will be better explained to you by a solicitor ( email us at
property@olalelsie.com if you have any questions)
Two conditions are particularly important, and they are:-
- Council’s Right of “First Refusal”: In most cases if you decide to sell within ten years of your Right to Buy purchase, you must offer your property back to the authority before putting it on the open market. If the authority decides that it wishes to repurchase your property, it buys back at a price agreed between yourself and the authority and If they do not wish to exercise its right to buy the property back, you are free to sell it on the open market.
- Requirement to Repay Discount: If you decide to sell within five years of your Right to Buy purchase, you must pay back a percentage of the discount that you received. The amount to be repaid is calculated using a formula based on the price at which the property is resold.
Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on property@olaleslie.com for a fixed fee conveyancing quotation and to ask us any questions that you have; we are always happy to assist.
