By law most council tenants have the
right to buy their council house or flat. To qualify for
the right to buy you need to:
- Have been a tenant for at least 5 years (if
you held a tenancy for 2 years or more before 18 January 2005, this
also qualifies)
- The council property you want to buy should
be your only or main home
If you qualify, you can buy your home jointly
with up to three adults - as long as they have lived in with you
for at least a year and it is their only or main home.
For more details download a copy of the
Your right to buy your home (Adobe PDF
format, 248kb) leaflet.
Discounts
The maximum discount off
the open market value of a property is 70% for a flat and 60% for a
house. The minimum discount is 44% for a flat and 32% for a house.
The actual discount depends on how long you have been a tenant and
is limited to a maximum of £26,000 in the North West.
Restrictions
There are certain homes,
which the council will not sell. These are:
- Sheltered accommodation
- Homes suitable for the elderly or especially adapted for the
disabled
- Temporary accommodation and dwellings, which have been leased
from other landlords by the Council
Some tenants are not
permitted to buy their home. These are:
- Homeless people who have been given temporary
accommodation
- Employees of the council who have accommodation as part of
their job e.g. caretakers, wardens
- Tenants who have a possession order on their property
Maintenance
If you buy your home you are
responsible for all its maintenance. If you buy a flat
we will continue to carry out certain maintenance tasks and
will charge you an annual service charge. Your rights and
obligations - and those of the Council - should be fully explained
to you by your solicitor at the time of purchase.
Selling your home
If you apply for the Right to Buy
(from 18 January 2005) and then sell your home within one year of
buying it, you will have to repay the entire discount you
received.
If you sell your home in the second
year you will have to repay four fifths, if you sell in the third
year you pay back three fifths. If you sell in the fourth year you
will pay back two fifths and if you sell in the fifth year you pay
back one fifth. After five years you won't have to pay back any of
the discount. The amount of discount to be repaid will be a
percentage of the re–sale value.
Contact us
To request a Right to Buy
application pack or to find out more about home ownership,
Contact the Right to Buy Team.
Related information