Right to Buy and Right to Acquire

To exercise the Right to Buy, you must be a secure tenant of a local authority (council) in England and must have completed at least 3 years as a public sector tenant. Importantly, the 3 years do not all need to be with the same landlord — time spent as a tenant of a housing association, a council in another area, or another public sector body (such as a NHS trust or police authority) can all count towards the qualifying period.

You can apply jointly with up to three family members who share your home, provided they have lived there for at least the previous 12 months, even if they are not named on the tenancy. Your spouse or civil partner has an automatic right to join the application if they live with you.

You cannot use Right to Buy if:

• You are a periodic licencee rather than a secure tenant (for example, if you are in temporary accommodation)
• The property is sheltered housing for elderly, disabled, or vulnerable people
• You are subject to a bankruptcy petition or order, or an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
• You are subject to a court order requiring you to leave the property
• The property is not your only or principal home

Some local authorities have been given discretionary powers by the government to suspend Right to Buy in areas of acute housing shortage — check with your council whether RTB is currently available in your area.

The Right to Buy discount depends on how long you have been a public sector tenant and whether you are buying a house or a flat:

Houses:

• After 3 years: 35% discount
• After 3 years, rising by 1% for each additional year up to a maximum of 70%
• Maximum 70% discount reached after 37 years

Flats and maisonettes:

• After 3 years: 50% discount
• After 3 years, rising by 2% for each additional year up to a maximum of 70%
• Maximum 70% discount reached after 13 years

The monetary caps on the discount are currently £96,000 in London and £128,900 outside London (figures are revised periodically — always check GOV.UK for the current maximum). The discount is calculated as a percentage of the property's market value, but then capped at the monetary maximum if the percentage discount would exceed it.

The cost floor rule limits the discount further: the purchase price after discount cannot be less than the amount the council has spent on building, acquiring, or improving the property in the last 15 years. If the cost floor is higher than the discounted market value, the cost floor applies as the minimum purchase price. This prevents buyers from purchasing properties where the council has recently invested significantly at a price below cost.

To start the Right to Buy process, you must complete and submit a Right to Buy application form (RTB1) to your landlord (the council). The council then has specific time limits to respond:

• The council must respond within 4 weeks confirming whether you have the Right to Buy (or 8 weeks if you have been a council tenant for less than 3 years)
• If the RTB is confirmed, the council must send you an offer notice (Section 125 Notice) within 8 weeks for a house, or 12 weeks for a flat — setting out the property's market valuation, the discount you are entitled to, and the purchase price

If you disagree with the council's valuation, you can ask the District Valuer (a government surveyor) to carry out an independent valuation within 3 months of receiving the Section 125 Notice. The District Valuer's valuation is binding on the council.

If the council fails to respond within the prescribed time limits, you can serve a notice on them (RTB6 form) requiring them to speed up. If delays continue, you can apply to the County Court to have the sale completed.

Once you accept the Section 125 offer, the conveyancing process begins in the same way as any property purchase. You will need a solicitor or licensed conveyancer and (if you need a mortgage) a mortgage offer. Some lenders specialise in Right to Buy mortgages.

The Right to Acquire is the equivalent scheme for housing association (registered provider) tenants in England. It works similarly to Right to Buy but with smaller discounts and some additional restrictions.

To qualify for Right to Acquire, you must:

• Be an assured tenant of a housing association (or registered provider) in England
• Have been a public sector tenant for at least 3 years (time with a council or another registered provider counts)
• Have the Right to Acquire confirmed by your landlord — not all housing association properties are eligible

Properties built or acquired before 1 April 1997 using private finance, or where the landlord owns fewer than 250 homes in total (or fewer than 1,000 in a rural area), are generally excluded from Right to Acquire.

The Right to Acquire discount is fixed at between £9,000 and £16,000 depending on which local authority area you are in. Unlike Right to Buy, it is not percentage-based and does not increase with length of tenancy beyond the minimum qualifying period.

The preserved Right to Buy is available to a smaller group of housing association tenants who were council tenants when their homes were transferred to a housing association — they retain their original Right to Buy entitlement, including the larger RTB discounts, rather than being limited to Right to Acquire.