Right to Buy
The Right to Buy is a government funded scheme which allows some tenants to purchase their rented property at a discounted cost. Eligibility for this scheme is based on the type of tenancy you have and the length of time you have had a public sector tenancy.
The discount is dependant on:
- how long you have been a public sector tenant
- where your property is
- the type of property
- the property value.
Do I qualify?
You must meet the following criteria to potentially be able to qualify:
- Have a protected or secured tenancy - this would be if your property was originally a council property and then was transferred to a housing association via a stock transfer
- The property is your main and sole property
- The property is a self-contained property
- You have had a public sector landlord for a minimum of three years.
Next steps
If you think you qualify for the Right to Buy, please contact us.
We will carry out an initial check to see if the property is a qualifying property. If we believe this is the case we will issue you with a form for you to complete and return with some supporting documents. Once we have received this we will advise on the next steps.
If you think you qualify you can also download the initial form from the government website.
Right to Acquire
The Right to Acquire is a government funded scheme which allows some tenants to purchase their property at a discounted cost.
This is different to the Right to Buy scheme as the discount is set between £10,000 and £16,000 dependant on your local authority. Both the tenant and property have to qualify for this scheme.
Do I qualify?
You must meet the following criteria to potentially qualify:
- You have an assured tenancy
- The property must be your main and sole residency
- It must be a self contained property
- You have been in the property for a minimum of three years.
Does the property qualify?
The property was built or purchased by the housing association after 31 March 1997 using social housing grant funded by either the local authority or the Housing Corporation (now Homes England)
Or was transferred to the housing association from the council after 31 March 1997.
Next steps
If you think that you qualify for the Right to Acquire, please contact us.
We will carry out our initial checks to see if the property is a qualifying property. If we believe that this is the case, we will issue you with a form for you to complete and return with some supporting documents. Once we have received this we will advise on the next steps.
If you think you qualify you can also download the initial form from the Government website.
Right to Shared Ownership
This is a new government funded scheme that has been introduced to allow some tenants to purchase their property under the Shared Ownership scheme. You can purchase an equity of between 10% and 75% of its full market value. This is only available for properties that were delivered through the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26.
Do I qualify?
- You live in a home where the Right to Shared Ownership applies
- You hold an assure tenancy
- You have been a tenant of social housing for a minimum of three years
- You meet the shared ownership eligibility requirements
- You do not own another property.
Next steps
If you think that you and your property meet the criteria for this scheme, please contact us.
Further details on this scheme can be found on the Government website.
Why will you not qualify?
For all of these schemes you will not qualify if:
- You are in rent arrears
- You are subject to legal proceedings – notice of seeking possession has been served
- You are subject to legal proceedings on the grounds of anti-social behaviour
- You are subject to bankruptcy proceedings or unfulfilled credit arrangements
- You already own a property or are named on another title deed.
Past initiative
Over the years, the Government has introduced several initiatives to enable tenants to buy their homes. Some are introduced through legislation, which requires housing associations to provide them. Others are optional, which means not all housing associations operate all schemes.
One example of this is Social Homebuy. This is an optional scheme introduced by the Government several years ago. It allows qualifying tenants to buy their home outright or on shared ownership terms. At Peabody, we don’t operate this scheme.