The Right to Buy scheme allows council tenants to purchase their council home at a discount if eligibility is met:

• 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

You can recevie a discount on the market value of your home when you buy it if you qualify for Right to Buy. 

Maximum discount

The maximum discount you can receive is the lower of:

• 70% of the value of your property
• the maximum discount for your region.

The maximum region discount for the South East is £38,000.

Please refer to the Government website for all maximum region discounts, https://www.gov.uk/right-to-buy-buying-your-council-home/discounts

Houses

You get a 35% discount if you have been a public sector tenant for between 3 and 5 years. After 5 years, the discount goes up by 1% for every extra year yu have been a public sector tenant (up to the maximum discount amount). 

Flats

You get a 50% discount if you have been a public sector tenant for between 3 and 5 years. After 5 years, the discount goes up by 2% for every extra year yu have been a public sector tenant (up to the maximum discount amount). 

Selling the property after purchasing through the Right to Buy Scheme

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

If you sell the property within 5 years of purchasing under the Right to 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.

You may not have to pay back the discount if you transfer ownership of your home to a family member. You'll need to agree this first with your landlord.

Sale within 10 years

If the property is sold within the first 10 years, the property must be first offered back to the former landlord or to another social landlord in the area. The property must be sold at the full market value. You can sell your home to anyone if your landlord does not agree to buy it within 8 weeks.

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. 

Some mortgages, such as commerical Buy-to-Lets, are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Information, guidance and/or advice contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an agency for arbitrating unresolved complaints between regulated firms and their clients. Full details of the FOS can be found on the website,                       www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Joanna Stickings trading as Certitude Wealth (FCA Number 618000) is an appointed representative of Julian Harris Mortgages Ltd (FCA Number 304155), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Joanna Stickings - Principal and Mortgage and Protection Adviser