Right to Buy Scheme

Chelsea Thomson and George Stringer talk about the Right to Buy scheme.

What is the Right to Buy scheme and how does it work?

The Right to Buy scheme allows most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount. The size of the discount does vary from home to home, and is determined by a few different factors. How long you’ve lived in the property, whether it’s a flat or a house and also the value of the property.

Who qualifies for the Right to Buy scheme?

There is a really good eligibility checker on the government website, but the main criteria are that it’s your only or main home, that it’s self-contained (you don’t share a kitchen or  bathroom) and you have to be a secure tenant. A secure tenant is someone who doesn’t intend to leave the property after purchase.  Of course, you also need to be a public sector tenant, which means that you rent from a council or a housing association. You will need to have done so for at least 3 years, but it doesn’t have to be 3 years in a row. You can do a joint application, so long as the other applicant shares your tenancy or has lived with you for the past three years as well.

What’s the process if I do qualify for Right to Buy?

The scheme is quite structured and it’s down to the applicant who wishes to purchase their own home to get things started. The first step is to complete a Right to Buy application form, which can be found on the government website. Once the application has been signed, send it by recorded delivery or deliver it in person and ask for a receipt. When the landlord receives the application is important as there are certain timeframes to keep throughout the whole process, and if the landlord doesn’t keep within them, you could potentially get a larger discount. Once the landlord has the application, they must make a decision within four weeks of receiving it.  If they’ve been your landlord for less than three years it can take up to eight weeks to receive an answer to your application. If they decline, the landlord needs to provide a full explanation as to why. In most cases, the landlord will agree to sell the property, and send you an offer. The offer will include the price they think you should pay for the home, how much discount you’ll receive and how it was calculated. 

What’s the discount if you live in a house and also if you live in a flat?

The maximum discount is £84,600 in England, but if you’re in London, it does increase slightly to £112,800 for a house. The discount is 35% if you’ve been a tenant for between 3 and 5 years, but after that, it actually goes up 1% for every extra year that you’ve lived there up to a maximum of 70%.  For a flat the discount starts at 50% if you’ve been a tenant for between 3 and 5 years and after 5 years the discount goes up by 2% per year. There is still a maximum of saving £84,600 or £112,800 if you are in London. The only time this changes is if the landlord or the council that you’re renting from has spent money maintaining the building.