The Right to Buy Scheme

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on it.

What is the Right to Buy Scheme?

Right to Buy is a scheme in England allowing some housing association tenants and most council home tenants to purchase their council house at a discount. The scheme was originally introduced in 1980 by Marget Thatcher in The Housing Act.

The scheme opens the door for many members of social housing and could help you own your own home. Right to Buy is still active within England and Nothern Ireland but has since been abolished in Wales and Scotland.

If you are sharing your tenacy or living with family, you can make a joint application under the Right to Buy scheme. You can make an application with up to three members of your family if they have lived with you for the past 12 months. Family do not have to share your tenancy to be eligible.

Am I Eligible?

It's your only or main home

No legal debt issues (e.g County Court Judgement)

The property is self-contained (e.g you do not share a kitchen with people outside of your household)

You are a secure tenant (you have a legal contract with your landlord)

You have had a public sector landlord for 3 years (e.g NHS trust or council housing association) - this does not have to be 3 years in a row

Visit UK goverment site for more eligibility details

How Much is the Home Discount?

When buying a council home, the discount you receive is based on the market value of the property. There are also a few other factors that change the discount such as if you live in a flat or a house and how long you have been a council tenant.

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Living in a House

Tenants Between 3-5 Years

You could get a 35% discount off the market value of your property. This means that if you live in a property with a value of £200,000, the Right to Buy scheme could save you £70,000 so you would only need to pay £130,000.

Tenants for 5+ Years

After five years, the discount goes up by 1% for every extra year you have been a public sector tenant. You will receive whichever discount is lowest.

Living in a Flat

Tenants Between 3-5 Years

You are entitled to get a 50% discount off the market value of your property. This means if you live in a council flat worth £140,000, the Right to Buy discount could be worth £70,000. You would only be paying £70,000 for the property.

Tenants for 5+ Years

After five years, the discount goes up by 2% for each extra year you have been a public sector tenant.

How to Apply for Right to Buy Scheme?

1. Fill in RTB1 Application

Follow the link and fill out the Right to Buy form. It tells you all the information you will need.

2. Send RTB1 to your Landlord

After completing the form, you can print it and sign where needed. Following this, send the form to your landlord (send using tracking so you know when it has arrived).

3. Wait for the Landlord's Offer

Your landlord is required to respond within 4 weeks (or 8 weeks if they have been your landlord for less than 3 years). If the response is no, do not worry. You are able to appeal their response. Otherwise, continue to step 4.

4. Review & Approve Offer

If the landlord agrees to sell you will receive an offer. It will outline: the property value, your level of discount, a description of the property, any land included, estimates for any services charged for the first 5 years and any known problems with the council house.

You will have 12 weeks after receiving your offer to confirm if you want to buy the property. If you do not reply within 12 weeks, you will be sent a reminder which you will have 28 days to reply or the application could be dropped. You can continue to rent if you change your mind about the offer.

What is Preserved Right to Buy?

Preserved Right to Buy is a type of Right to Buy scheme that applies to tenants of social housing who were living in their property when it was transferred from the council to another landlord (e.g a housing association). You may also be eligible if you later moved to another property owned by the same new landlord but not if you moved to a home owned by a different landlord.

Under the Preserved Right to Buy, eligible tenants can purchase their property at a discount. Generally the discount is lower than that offered under the standard Right to Buy scheme. The discount amount is calculated based on the length of time the tenant has been living in the property and the type of property.

In addition to the standard eligibility criteria for the Right to Buy scheme, tenants must also meet some additional criteria to qualify for the Preserved Right to Buy. This includes:

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Preserved Right to Buy can be a valuable opportunity for eligible social housing tenants to become homeowners and benefit from the potential increase in the value of their property over time. However, tenants should carefully consider the costs of homeownership, including mortgage payments, property maintenance, and other expenses before making a decision to buy their property.

To find out if you are eligible for the scheme to help you buy your home, contact a member of our team.

Do You Have the Right to Acquire?

If you do not qualify for the standard Right to Buy or Preserved Right to Buy scheme, you might be starting to lose hope. There is another option that may be suitable for you. The Right to Acquire scheme is similar to the Right to Buy scheme which allows eligible council tenants to purchase their homes at a discounted price. However, the Right to Acquire scheme offers a smaller discount and applies only to housing association tenants.

The criteria to apply is very similar to the Right to Buy. You need to have had a public sector landlord for three years. The property needs to be self-contained and it has to be your main or only home.

Your home must also have been:

Find out if you have the right to acquire.

Your landlord has to reply within the given timeframe. If they do not respond or are late responding, you may be eligible for a greater discount. To apply for a reduction due to a delay fill in this initial notice of delay (RTB6) and send it to your landlord.

If your landlord does not reply within a month of getting the RTB6, you can fill in the operative notice of delay (RTB8) and receive compensation. This means that any rent you pay while you are waiting to hear from your landlord could be taken off the sale price. You can do this each time your landlord is late getting back to you.

Selling a Right to Buy home is not as easy as buying it with a large discount then selling it at market value whenever you like. You must meet the appropriate following criteria.

If you have owned the property for 5-10 years, you must first offer to sell the property to your ex-landlord or another local social landlord. If they would like to purchase it, the home should be sold at full market value. They will have 8 weeks to respond after which you can sell the property to anybody.

Wanting to sell before 5 years? You will be required to pay back some of the discount as outlined below:
  • 2nd year repay 80% of the discount
  • 3rd year repay 60% of the discount
  • 4th year repay 40% of the discount
  • 5th year repay 20% of the discount

If you think your landlord has put the value of your property too high and disagree with their offer, do not worry. After receiving the offer, you get three months to ask for an independant valuation.

A district valuer from HM Revenue and Customs will visit the council property and decide how much it is worth. You will then have 12 weeks to accept HMRC's valuation or back out of the sale.

Unfortunately, the Right to Buy is not available to people who part-own their home.

Talk to your landlord if you are considering buying a further share of your home.

Any period spent in Armed Forces accommodation can count towards the three year qualifying period for the Right to Buy discount. You can also count this time if your husband/wife/civil partner was a member of the Armed Forces and you lived with them in this accommodation.

If you currently live in Armed Forces accommodation, you do not have the Right to Buy.

The maximum discount will increase each year (on 6 April) by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the Office for National Statistics. Where there is no increase or decrease in the CPI, discounts will stay the same.

After everything is agreed upon, you will need a mortgage for your Right to Buy home. Just like anybody else buying a home, you will need to apply for a mortgage. Purchasing property is a big decision.

As a home owner, you will be fully responsible for your finances. Make sure to fully consider all costs and fees. It is not just the mortgage payments, you will also be responsible for maintenance and repairs now.

If this is the first home you have bought, you can visit our First Time Buyer page. Find out what to expect during the home buying process such as applying for a mortgage and including surveys. We even have a mortgage calculator so you will know how much you are paying.

Are you considering exercising your "right to buy" your council or housing association property?


At Lake District Mortgages, we can help make this process easier and more affordable for you.


Our experienced advisor will guide you through the complex process of purchasing your property, ensuring that you understand your rights and options every step of the way.

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