What is the Right to Buy?
The Right to Buy was introduced in 1980. It means that many secure tenants can buy their home at a discount based on the number of years spent as a public sector tenant.
This page is designed to tell you in very broad terms about the Right to Buy, please see the paragraph 'How to apply' to obtain a booklet explaining the scheme in more detail.
Who has the Right to Buy?
To qualify for the Right to Buy you have to have a period as a public sector secure tenant, i.e. not in temporary accommodation. If your secure tenancy started before 18 January 2005 you can apply for the Right to Buy when you have spent two years as a secure tenant. For tenancies commencing on and after 18 January 2005, you have to wait until you have five years as a public sector secure tenant.
A public sector tenancy means one with a landlord like this Council or another Local Authority or Registered Social Landlord (eg some Housing Associations). The qualifying period does not all have to be with the same landlord.
Even if you are not joint tenants, your husband or wife may share the Right to Buy with you if the property is their only or principal home. Other members of your family may also be able to share the Right to Buy if the property is their only or principal home and they have lived with you throughout the last 12 months. A person living with you as your husband or wife, but not actually married to you, is regarded as a member of your family.
You may not have the Right to Buy if your property was let to you as an elderly or disabled person or as a service tenancy.
Discount
The longer you have been a tenant, the more discount you get, up to a maximum of £38,000.
Regardless of how long you have been a tenant, the maximum cash limit on discount in the South-East of England is currently £38,000.
| Tenancy | Qualifying period | House | Flat
|
| Commencing before 18th Jan 05 | 2 Years | 32% for 2 yrs 1% for each year thereafter
| 44% for 2 yrs 2% for each year thereafter
|
| Commencing on or after 18th Jan 05 | 5 Years | 35% for 5 yrs 1% for each year thereafter | 50% for 5 yrs 2% for each year thereafter |
The discount may be reduced if the Council has spent a considerable amount repairing or renovating your property or if you have had a previous discount to buy a Council property.
Buying a flat or maisonette
If you buy a house, you will purchase the freehold and will own the property outright. If you buy a flat or maisonette, you will purchase a long lease. The block will still be owned by the landlord who is the freeholder and who will be responsible for the upkeep of the building as a whole and any communal areas and facilities. As a leaseholder, you will have to pay the landlord a nominal ground rent of £10 a year, but you and the other leaseholders will also have to pay service charges.
Dealing with delays
Landlords have to deal with Right to Buy applications within certain time limits which are explained in the Right to Buy booklet (see How to apply below). If there are problems with the sale and you cannot settle them with the Council, you can get advice about your rights at a Citizens Advice Bureau or from a solicitor. You can also get advice from the Department for Communities and Local Government, SE Regional Office, Bridge House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4GA, Tel: 01483 882255.
How to apply
A booklet describing the scheme and the necessary application forms can be obtained from the Council. Contact us on the details below.
This information is also available on the Department for Communities & Local Government website.
Be suspicious if anyone tries to tell you that the Right to Buy is ending. They may be trying to persuade you to do something that benefits them rather than you. Tenants do not always receive good advice from private companies and individuals offering to help them buy their homes. The Right to Buy booklet and necessary forms are available free from landlords. If in doubt please contact the Council as above.
Once you apply for the Right to Buy, the Council will not undertake any works of repair and maintenance (except in extreme circumstances) as the property will be valued as at the date of your application.
Selling on
Where a property has been sold under the Right to Buy Scheme, the Council does not retain the title deeds. If you have bought your property with a mortgage or loan, the deeds will be retained by your lender. Your title deeds are important documents. If you hold the deeds to the property yourself, you should ensure that they are kept in a safe place.
Repayment of discount
For Council properties purchased before 18 January 2005, the repayment period is 3 years. If you sell within the first year of buying under the Right to buy scheme, you will have to repay back all the discount. If you sell in the second year, you will have to repay two-thirds of the discount; if you sell within 3 years of purchase, you will have to repay one-third of the discount. After 3 years, you can sell the property without any repayments.
For Council properties purchased on or after 18 January 2005, the repayment period is 5 years. If you sell your home within 5 years of buying under the Right to Buy scheme you will have to pay back some of the discount plus you will have to pay a percentage of any increase in value back to the Council.
If you sell:-
Within 1 year of the purchase you will have to repay all of the discount
Within 2 years of the purchase you will have to repay 4/5 (80%)
Within 3 years of the purchase you will have to repay 3/5 (60%)
Within 4 years of the purchase you will have to repay 2/5 (40%)
Within 5 years of the purchase you will have to repay 1/5 (20%)
Plus you will have to pay an equal percentage of any increase in value of the property (although the costs of any improvements you have made since you purchased the property can be discounted). After 5 years, you can sell without any repayments.
If in advance of your purchase, or within the first five years, you enter into an agreement to transfer your property to a third party in the future, then this will trigger repayment of your discount.
The Council is bound by government legislation and is unable to waive the rules regarding the repayment of discounts. There are, however, some exceptions to these rules where the requirement to repay the discount may not apply. These include:-
Right of first refusal
If you wish to sell or dispose of your home purchased under the Right to Buy scheme within 10 years, you will be required to offer it to your former landlord at full market value. If your offer has not been accepted within 8 weeks, you will be free to sell the property on the open market.
Selling a flat
If you decide to sell your flat, the Council is prepared to provide you with information and will assist you upon written request.
It is usual to instruct a Solicitor who will request information from the Council about service charges, insurance cover, works scheduled to be carried out, fees for notices of dealings etc. You should be aware that the nature of the enquiries is often so varied that several Council Departments may need to be consulted. For this reason, the Council should be given as much notice as possible. The Council will make a charge for supplying this information. You are not obliged to employ a Solicitor and the same information can be provided to you or anyone who you appoint to act on your behalf on payment of the fee.
You will remain responsible for all service charges up to the time you actually sell your flat. The Council will not be party to the apportionment of outstanding service charges between the outgoing and the incoming leaseholder. It is usually the responsibility of Solicitors to resolve this and, having done so, to retain some monies for charges not yet billed.
Council Officers will do their best to help you but you are advised to seek independent advice from professionals such as solicitors, surveyors or property managers before deciding to sell your property.
Buying the freehold
Subject to certain conditions, leaseholders of flats have the right to buy the freehold of their building as a group if they and their building qualify. They have this right even if the freeholder or landlord does not wish to sell. Once the freehold has been bought, the leaseholders can decide how they want to manage the building, for example, managing the building themselves or appointing a manager to do so on their behalf.
To have these rights you must be a long leaseholder and the building must satisfy certain criteria. (A long lease is usually granted for a fixed number of years, and the value of the lease diminishes as the lease gets shorter).
For example: in a block of 12 flats, at least 8 flats must be held on long leases, and at least 6 long leaseholders would need to participate in the enfranchisement process.
The process may be complicated and expensive. Apart from the market value there are other costs the purchasers have to meet including the freeholders reasonable costs
If you are a leaseholder in a building where the Council is the freeholder, Council Officers will do their best to help you and can supply a short explanatory leaflet. However you are advised to seek independent advice from professionals such as solicitors, surveyors or property managers before exercising any of your statutory rights. The Department for Communities and Local Government has produced a booklet "Residential Long Leaseholders - A guide to your rights and responsibilities" which gives more detail of the process and which can be obtained, free of charge from
DCLG Publications
PO Box No 236
Wetherby LS23 7NB
Telephone: 0870 1226 236
Fax: 0870 1207 405
Email: odpm@twoten.press.net
The extract from the the DCLG's website about the Right to buy contains comprehensive information about the scheme.
