Right to Buy allows most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount. Use the eligibility checker on the Right to Buy website to find out if you can apply.

There are different rules for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

You can apply to buy your council home if:

• it's your only or main home
• it's self-contained
• you're a secure tenant
• you've had a public sector landlord (eg a council, housing association or NHS trust) for 5 years - it doesn’t have to be 5 years in a row

Joint applications

You can make a joint application with:

• someone who shares your tenancy
• up to 3 family members who've lived with you for the past 12 months (even if they don't share your tenancy)

Ex-council homes

If your home used to be owned by the council, but they sold it to another landlord (like a housing association) while you were living in it, you may still have the Right to Buy. This is called ‘Preserved Right to Buy’.

Ask your landlord if this applies to you.

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

The maximum discount is £75,000 across England, except in London boroughs where it's £100,000.

The discount is based on:

• how long you’ve been a tenant with a public sector landlord
• the type of property you’re buying - a flat or house
• the value of your home

If you’re buying with someone else, you count the years of whoever’s been a public sector tenant the longest.

You'll usually have to repay some or all your discount if you sell your home within 5 years.

You might get a smaller discount if you’ve used Right to Buy in the past.

You could get a bigger discount if new rules come into force in April 2014.

Working out the discount

Use the Right to Buy calculator to find out how much discount you could get.

There are different discount levels for houses and flats.

Houses

You get a 35% discount if you've been a public sector tenant for 5 years. The discount goes up by 1% for every extra year you've been a public sector tenant, up to a maximum of 60% – or £75,000 across England and £100,000 in London boroughs (whichever is lower).

Flats

You get a 50% discount if you've been a public sector tenant for 5 years. The discount goes up by 2% for every extra year you've been a public sector tenant, up to a maximum of 70% – or £75,000 across England and £100,000 in London boroughs (whichever is lower).

If your landlord has spent money on your home

Your discount will be less if your landlord has spent money building or maintaining your home:

• in the last 10 years - if your landlord built or acquired your home before 2 April 2012
• in the last 15 years - if you’re buying your home through Preserved Right to Buy, or if your landlord acquired your home after 2 April 2012

You won't get any discount if your landlord has spent more money than your home is now worth.

Social HomeBuy

If you can’t afford to buy your home through Right to Buy, you may still be able to buy a share of it through Social HomeBuy.

1. Fill in the Right to Buy application form (RTB1 notice).

2. Send it to your landlord.

3. Your landlord must say yes or no within 4 weeks of getting your application (8 weeks if they've been your landlord for less than 5 years). If your landlord says no, they must say why.

4. If your landlord agrees to sell, they'll send you an offer. They must do this within 8 weeks of saying yes if you're buying a freehold property, or 12 weeks if you're buying a leasehold property.

If your landlord agrees to sell, their offer will tell you:

• the price they think you should pay for the property and how it was worked out
• your discount and how it was worked out
• a description of the property and any land included in the price
• estimates of any service charges (for a flat or maisonette) for the first 5 years
• any known problems with the property's structure, eg subsidence

Deciding to buy

You have 12 weeks after you get your landlord’s offer to tell them you still want to buy.

The landlord will send you a reminder if you don’t reply to the offer. You have 28 days to reply to the reminder, or the landlord could drop your application.

You can pull out of the sale and continue to rent at any time.

If you disagree with the landlord's offer

Contact your landlord and tell them why.

If you think your landlord has set your home's market value too high, you must write to them within 3 months of getting the offer and ask them for an independent valuation.

A district valuer from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will then visit your home and decide how much it's worth. You have 12 weeks to accept their valuation or pull out of the sale.

You can appeal to the Residential Property Tribunal if you’re stopped from buying you home because it’s suitable for housing elderly people.

How to appeal

Fill in the ‘Application for a determination’ form (RTB1 appeal) and send it to your regional office, listed on the last page.

You must appeal within 56 days of your landlord turning down your application.

Your landlord must complete parts of your Right to Buy application within set time limits.

You could get a reduction in the sale price if they don’t.

Applying for a reduction because of a delay

Fill in the ‘Initial notice of delay' form (RTB6) and send it to your landlord.

Your landlord must then either move the sale along within 1 month or send you a 'counter notice'. The counter notice will say that they’ve already replied or explain why they can't speed things up.

If your landlord doesn't reply within a month of getting the RTB6, fill in the ‘Operative notice of delay’ form (RTB8). This means that any rent you pay while you're 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.

If you sell your home within 10 years of buying it through Right to Buy, you must first offer it to either:

• your old landlord
• another social landlord in the area

The property should be sold at the full market price agreed between you and the landlord.

If you can't agree, a district valuer will say how much your home is worth and set the price. You won't have to pay for their valuation.

You can sell your home to anyone if the landlord doesn't agree to buy it within 8 weeks.

Paying back your discount

You'll have to pay back some or all of the discount you got if you sell your Right to Buy home within 5 years of buying it.

You'll have to pay back all of the discount if you sell within the first year. After that, the total amount you pay back reduces to:

• 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

The amount you pay back depends on the value of your home when you sell it.

Example You bought your home worth £100,000 and got a 40% discount (£40,000). You then sold your home after 18 months for £120,000.

40% of £120,000 is £48,000. As you're in the second year, you would repay 80% of £48,000 (£38,400).

You may not have to pay back the discount if you transfer ownership of your home to a member of your family. You’ll need to agree this first with your landlord and then get a solicitor to do this for you.

Rural homes

Your former landlord may limit who you can sell your home to if your home is in:

• a national park
• an area of outstanding natural beauty
• an area the government says is rural for Right to Buy

For example, you may have to sell your home to someone who's lived or worked in the area for more than 3 years. This may mean you have difficulty getting a mortgage to buy your home.

Your landlord will tell you if this could apply to your home when you apply for Right to Buy.

You can get free advice about:

• how to complete your Right to Buy application
• whether the scheme is right for you

Ask your landlord about Right to Buy. They may also be able to help you complete the application.

Money Advice Service

The Money Advice Service offers free, impartial advice about money, including buying a home and taking out a mortgage.

Money Advice Service
Telephone: 0300 500 5000
Find out about call charges

Department for Communities and Local Government

The Right to Buy team at the Department for Communities and Local Government can answer questions about how the scheme works.

Department for Communities and Local Government
RTB@communities.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0303 444 3798
Find out about call charges

Other help

Read the Right to Buy summary booklet.

You can also get advice on Right to Buy from:

• the Right to Buy website
• Citizens Advice
• Shelter
• your local Law Centre