INTRODUCTION
Tenants who have been renting their home from a Local Authority or Housing Association have a statutory right to buy their own homes.BASIC RULES
The basic rules on right to buys are who qualifies, what price is to be paid, and how the purchase will be financed.WHO QUALIFIES?
Tenants must have been in occupation for at least two years. You will not be able to buy if there is a possession order against you, whether suspended or not, for a breach of your tenancy or for non-payment of rent. If you have arrears of rent but are not the subject of a court order your housing authority will insist on you paying the arrears as a condition to you exercising your right to buy.WHAT PRICE TO PAY?
The price is based on the market price for the property less a discount calculated on the length of the tenancy.DISCOUNTS
The level of discount depends on periods spent as a tenant with a qualifying landlord. The periods need not have been spent in your present home or with your present landlord. In general if you are a public sector tenant of a house and you have the two-year period needed to qualify for the right to buy you may be entitled to a discount of 32%. You may also be entitled to an extra 1% for each complete year over the two years.FINANCING THE PURCHASE
A tenant has to consider how they are going to pay for it. Very few people have the resources to be able to buy property outright. Most people have to arrange some form of finance usually by way of a loan or a mortgage.RIGHT TO BUY NOTICE
If you wish to exercise your right to purchase your home you should contact a solicitor, your local housing authority or housing association. You will need to complete a notice claiming right to buy form. They will advise you on how to proceed with the application.WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Once you have submitted your form the landlord must reply either by admitting or denying the right to buy. If the right to buy is denied, reasons must be given. The landlord then has four weeks to reply unless the two-year period on which you rely to qualify for the right to buy includes a period spent as a tenant of another landlord. In that case the landlord has eight weeks to reply.INDEPENDENT ADVICE
This page only provides very basic information about Council Right to Buys. Any decision that you make about whether to proceed is a highly personal one and very much your own. We believe it essential that if anybody requires accurate and comprehensive advice about Mortgages and Loans then the advice from an Independent Financial Advisor should be sought. You can find one by looking in your local Yellow Pages or of course, the Internet!SURVEYS
The local authority (and any mortgage provider) will always require a valuation and survey to be carried out against the property. A qualified valuer and surveyor usually carries this out. The report will detail any defects and problems and of course provide the surveyors opinion of the value of the property. The costs of the survey and report have to be paid by the purchaser. We always recommend that a full and comprehensive survey and report be carried out prior to the purchase of any property. These can cost anything up to £500.00 but they are well worth it.FIXED FEE CONVEYANCING
We offer a Fixed Fee Quality Conveyancing service.We have the expertise and experience to handle your Conveyancing needs with friendliness and efficiency.
