Right to buy

Qualification

To qualify for the right to buy your Council property you must be able to count a total of at least two years spent as a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier. You need not have spent the two years in your present home or with your present landlord, and in some circumstances periods which another person (such as your husband or wife) has spent as a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier can count towards your two year qualifying period.

• A public sector tenant is a tenant of a public sector landlord who occupies the property as their only or principal home.
• An armed forces occupier is a person who occupies accommodation for them as a member of the regular armed forces of the Crown.

Discount

Discount also depends on periods spent as a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier. The periods need not have been spent in your present home or with your present landlord, and in some circumstances periods which another person (such as your husband or wife) has spent as a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier can count towards your discount.

In general, if you are the tenant of a house and you have the two year period needed to qualify for the right to buy, you will be entitled to a discount of 32%. You may also be entitled to an extra 1% discount for each complete year over the two years. So if, for instance, you have been a public sector tenant for 10 years, your discount could be 40%. The maximum discount for houses is 60%. There is a limit of £30,000 on the discount which can be granted in respect of houses.

In general, if you are the tenant of a flat or maisonette and you have the two year period needed to qualify for the right to buy, you will be entitled to a discount of 44%. You may also be entitled to an extra 2% discount for each complete year over the two years. So if, for instance, you have been a public sector tenant for five years, your discount could be 50%. The maximum discount for flats and maisonettes is 70%. There is a limit of £30,000 on the discount which can be granted in respect of flats and maisonettes.

For an application form contact your Local Housing Office (see links opposite).

Housing Act 2004

The Housing Act 2004 made some important changes to the Right to Buy scheme including:

• the initial qualification period was extended from two years to five years for new tenancies after 18 January 2005
• the discount repayment period was extended from three years to five years

Leaseholders

The purchaser of certain types of property such as flats in blocks will be the leaseholder once the purchase is complete.

For more information on the rights of a leaseholder visit the Leaseholders page (see links opposite).

Documents

To view these documents you might need to download some software. Visit our downloads page for more information.

Initial demolition notice (Ker Street) - suspension of the right to buy at Ker Street (odds). File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 16KB

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