The Right to Buy Scheme allows most council tenants to purchase their council home at a discount.

There is eligibility criteria to meet for this scheme, which includes (but not limited to):

• being a public sector tenant for at least 3 years
• you don't have to have lived in the same property for 3 years nor does the tenancy have to be continuous nor with the same public sector landlord
• the property must be your only or main home and be a self-contained property
• no anti-social behaviour issues registered as a public sector tenant
• no legal problems with debt e.g. no bankruptcy, debt relief orders or County Court Judgements (CCJ)
• no outstanding possession orders issued by the Court (e.g for unpaid rent or lease breaches).

There are some exceptions to the rules and some properties won't be eligible for this scheme. The landlord will confirm eligiblity for the Right to Buy Scheme.

Discount available

The longer you have lived in the property, the greater the discount you are entiled to. For tax year 2023/2024, the maximum discount is £96,000 (unless you live in London where the maximum discount is £127,900).

There is a higher discount for flats than houses.

The discount acts as the 'deposit' for the property purchase, so a personal deposit isn't necessarily required.

There are other factors that could affect the discount.

Qualifying period

The discount you receive is subject to the time you have spent as a public sector tenant with:

• ​your current landlord
• another 'Right to Buy' landlord
• any of the public bodies listed on pages 36-38 of the Giovernment's guide to Right to Buy (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1183561/Your_Right_to_Buy_Your_Home_A_Guide_-_2023.pdf)

Selling the property after purchasing through the Right to Buy Scheme

The property can be sold at anytime after the purchase has completed, however, the discount will have to be repaid if the propert is sold within a certain number of years.

Within 1 year

If you sell the property with 1 year of purchasing through the Right to Buy Scheme, all of the discount will be repaid on sale. 

Within 5 years

If you sell the property within 5 years of purchasing under the Right ot Buy Scheme, a portion of the discount will be repaid. 

The discount repaid is tiered:

• 80% of the discount in the second year
• 60% of the discount in the third year
• 40% of the discount in the fourth year
• 20% of the discount in the fifth year.

After 5 years, the property can be sold without repaying the discount. In addition, the amount of discount repaid will be a percentage of the resale value.

Within 10 years 

If the property is sold after 10 years from the purchase through the Right to Buy scheme, there is the 'Right of First Refusal'. The property must be first offered back to the former landlord or to another social landlord in the area. The full market value will be agreed between the parties: if the offer hasn't been accepted within 8 weeks, the property can be sold on the open market.

Think carefully before securing debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other debts secured on it.

Please note that some mortgages, such as commerical Buy-to-Lets, are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).