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right to buy purchases
As a public sector tenant you will probably have the right to buy if you are a secure tenant of:-
- A district council, county council or county borough council
- A London borough council
- A Registered Social Landlord if you are a former secure tenant of a local authority and your home was transferred to a Registered Social Landlord
You have the right to buy if you have been a public sector tenant for at least two years if your tenancy commenced before 18th January 2005. If your tenancy commenced on or after 18th January 2005 the qualifying period is 5 years. This need not necessarily have been in your present accommodation. A tenancy with another public sector landlord can be included in this time.
As a tenant you will not have the right to buy if you are:-
- A housing association tenant whose tenancy has not been transferred from a local authority
- A tenant of a property owned by a charity, a co-operative association, the Housing Corporation or a Landlord which has not received public subsidy
- A tenant of sheltered housing or housing specifically designated for the elderly or disabled, temporary housing, homes due to be demolished and homes provided by certain employers.
If you are not sure whether you have the right to buy you should check with your landlord which category you fit into.
Discounts
As a tenant with a right to buy, you will get a discount on the price of the property. The amount of the discount will depend on how long you have lived there and where the property is. The discount will not exceed the regional upper limits, which range from £16,000 to £38,000. In Northern Ireland, the upper limit for discount is £34,000.
Your discount may be reduced if your home has recently been purchased or built by your Landlord or he has spent money on repairing or maintaining it.
If you exercise the right to buy and sell the property within five years, you will have to repay all or some of the discount. The discount to be repaid will be a percentage of the market value of the property when you sell or dispose of it.
If you enter into an agreement within the 5 years to sell the property in the future, this agreement will trigger repayment of the discount.
If you wish to sell the property within 10 years you must first offer it to either your former landlord or to another social landlord in your area at full market value. If your offer has not been accepted within 8 weeks you will then be free to sell the property on the open market.
How to pay
As a tenant who wants to exercise your right to buy, you should try to obtain a mortgage from a building society or high street bank. We may be able to help. We will give you advice and recommend a product which best suits your circumstances. You will be kept informed throughout your transaction by letter and you will benefit from mfg Solicitors’ “Client Care” package, which provides you with assured commitments to service levels.
However, if you cannot afford to buy the property outright, you can still buy under the rent to mortgage scheme. Under this scheme you can buy a share of the property and make mortgage repayments on the amount you have borrowed for this. The landlord will retain ownership of the remaining share of the property.
We aim to provide all the Council right to buy mortgage information necessary, to enable you to compare mortgages on a "like for like" basis, enabling you to choose the best right to buy mortgage product for your needs.
How to apply
In England and Wales, if you want to apply for the right to buy you should ask your landlord for the Right to Buy Claim Form (Form RTB1). The landlord must provide it.
The right to acquire
As a secure or assured tenant of a registered social landlord, for example, a housing association or a local housing company, you may have the right to buy your home under a different scheme called the ‘right to acquire’. The right to acquire only applies to a limited number of properties, for example, homes built with public funds on or after 1 April 1997.
Follow this link to download your own copy of the Government’s guidance booklet Your Right to Buy Your Home (PDF 359 Kb)
Our fees
At mfg solicitors we are able to offer a fixed price of £375.00 plus VAT and disbursements for a Freehold Right to Buy purchase, without a mortgage. If mortgage finance is required our charge will be £400.00 plus VAT and disbursements. Call us now for further details.
We can help you with:
• Sales and purchases of houses, flats and all types of residential property, both freehold and leasehold.
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If you would like to find out more, please contact us.
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