The Right to Buy scheme allows most council tenants to purchase the house they live in, from the council, at a discounted price.
The tenant must have been a council tenant for at least 5 years, but not necessarily in the same property. Joint tenants or family members who have resided at property for the last 12 months can also apply.
The discount is calculated according to the length of the tenancy, but these discounts differ throughout the United Kingdom as follows:
- London area: Up to £100,000
- Rest of England: Up to £75,000
- Wales: Up to £16,000
- Northen Ireland: Up to £24,000
Important Note – The above information is to be used as a guide only. For specific information please contact your local council.
Please note that discounts for Flats & Maisonettes differ to those of a house.
The Right to Buy is not available for the sale of properties that have been specially designed and fitted to suit the requirements of the, elderly or disabled. Other reasons where a right to buy will not apply is if the property is not your main residence, you are an undischarged bankrupt, about to be declared bankrupt, owe money to creditors, or have a court order requiring you to leave the property.
Should you decide to exercise your right to buy you must contact your local councils District Housing Officer. During the process the council will make arrangements to value the property. To your advantage any home improvements carried out at your own expense will be deducted when calculating the properties open market value.
Selling the property / raising funds secured on property
Your property can be sold at any time, but should you decide to this within 5 years of purchasing the property, the council will reclaim a proportion of the discount given. This claw back element reduces each year until five years have passed. This period is called The Pre-emption period. Should you decide to sell your property after this period, the council will not claw back any part of the discount, this means that the proceeds of the sale will belong to you.
It is possible to raise funds secured against the property. Again for Loan to Value purposes, the best time to do this is, after the Pre-emption period. There maybe options available to you if you wish to raise money from the property during this period. Please contact us for further information.
