Right to Buy Scheme
The Right to Buy Scheme offers council tenants the opportunity to purchase their council house at a substantial discount.
See if you pre-qualify for a mortgage
Right to Buy Scheme – We can help you buy your council house at a heavily reduced price
If you’re a council tenant, we could help you to buy the property at a significant discount through the Right to Buy scheme. Right-to-Buy allows tenants of council properties, and some housing associations, the legal right to buy, at a large discount, the council house they are living in.
- Up to a 70% discount available on the price of your home
- Your own deposit is not always required
- Raise additional funds for home improvements
How does Right to Buy work?
One of the most attractive features of Right to Buy for many tenants is the discount you could get on the purchase of your home. If you’re eligible for Right to Buy, you could get a maximum discount of 70% or £96,000, unless you live in London boroughs where the maximum discount increases to £127,900 (whichever is the lower). The discount increases each year in April, rising in line with the consumer price index (CPI). This applies to England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland may differ.
Mortgage application process
4 simple steps for applying for a mortgage. See more about the mortgage application process here
Complete our
pre-qualify form
Let us know a few details about the mortgage you require
A mortgage specialist will call
One of our brokers will call and get a few more details of your requirements
We search for your perfect mortgage
We will search the market for the best rates for your circumstances
A Decision in Principle is made
We will secure a DIP with a lender, if you approve we move forward with a full application.
Whatever your mortgage goal, there will be something for you
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Right to Buy FAQ
The right to buy scheme was introduced over 40 years ago to allow eligible council and housing association tenants to buy their council homes at a discount.
If you’re eligible, you can also enlist the help of your spouse and other family members – who have also lived in the property – with a joint application.
At Clever Mortgages we can check if you meet the eligibility criteria and help you apply for a right to buy mortgage even if you have bad credit.
There are certain criteria you must meet to be able to apply for a right to buy mortgage.
You MUST:
- Be a council tenant. Even if your council has transferred your home to a housing association, you could still have a ‘preserved’ right to buy. You can also still apply if you’re not a council tenant now, but were one when your home was transferred to a new landlord
- Have lived in your home for at least three years – and it must be your only home. The longer you’ve lived in your home, the bigger the discount you’ll receive
- Have kept your home in good condition
You MUST NOT:
- Have debts which have associated legal problems, such as bankruptcy
- Have a possession order against your home
- Live in a property which is due to be demolished
Sometimes it’s easy to misunderstand the small print, so our friendly team will take the time to fully understand your circumstances and help you throughout the whole right to buy process.
Going through a mortgage broker gives you the best chance of finding a mortgage product best suited to your personal finances.
You’ll know how much you want to borrow based on the offer presented by your landlord, from there one of our broker will need to take some information.
- Income – you can prove this with payslips or accounts if self-employed. Lenders will need to know you can afford to meet repayments, and our brokers will want to make sure they find you a mortgage that’s affordable.
- Outgoings – this will be things like your general living costs, bills, loan or credit repayments and any other regular expenditures. It’s important to be honest, as the lender will carry out a credit check and also so you getting a mortgage you can afford to keep up the repayments on.
- Your credit report – this is how lenders determine if you’re a responsible borrower and can play a part in whether your application would be accepted. If you have bad credit or a history of credit issues, we could still help you. We can obtain a credit report for you and our brokers are specialists in bad credit situations and work with specialist lenders who consider all applicants.
- ID – this could be your passport or driving license.
- Address details – Over the last 3 to 6 years.
- Information about your property – Construction type, number of bedrooms, approximate year of build.
- The sum you wish to borrow and the term you’d like to borrow it over
Our brokers will be able to start the application process for you, finding the right lender for your situation. If accepted, you should get a mortgage in principal and from there you can go down the formal application process.
Once your application has been accepted by your lender, your solicitor will arrange for all searches and conveyancing.
Finally, your solicitor will arrange for legal completion.
The Right to Buy scheme has some criteria that must be met for you to be eligible. This includes:
The council home you wish to purchase must be your only, or main home.
It’s self-contained.
You must be a secure tenant. Gov.uk considers this as a tenant with a contract with their landlord wherein you can “normally live in the property for the rest of your life, as long as you do not break the conditions of the tenancy.”
You’ve had a public sector landlord, such as your local council, housing association or NHS trust for 3 years, the 3 years do not have to be consecutive.
If your council has transferred your home to a housing association, you could still have a ‘preserved’ right to buy. You can also still apply if you’re not a council tenant now, but were one when your home was transferred to a new landlord
If you want to apply for a Right to Buy mortgage you must not:
Have debts which have associated legal problems, such as bankruptcy
Have a possession order against your home
Live in a property which is due to be demolished
Some lenders allow you to use the discount you get through the Right to Buy scheme as your full deposit, essentially meaning you could borrow the sum you need for the mortgage without saving for a deposit.
This isn’t always the case though, so if this is the type of mortgage you are seeking it could be easiest to find through a mortgage broker like Clever Mortgages. Clever Mortgages brokers have access to a range of lenders, several specialising in unique financial situations which means you could have a wider range of mortgage products to choose from.
We understand people’s circumstances are different and just how easy it is for a life event to cause missed payment on unsecured debts. It’s still possible to qualify for a right to buy mortgage though even if you have bad credit, for example have missed previous payments or defaulted on a loan.
At Clever Mortgages, we can provide all the advice you need to help you buy your council home, even if you have a poor credit rating. We can help you find a suitable right to buy mortgage that you’ll be able to afford now and in the future.
This means that you could still own your home with the right to buy scheme even if:
- You have a less than average credit history
- You’re self-employed or have complex income
- Your property was built using a non-standard construction method
Houses
You get a 35% discount if you’ve been a public sector tenant for between 3 and 5 years.
After 5 years, the discount goes up 1% for every extra year you’ve been a public sector tenant, up to a maximum of 70% or £96,000 across England and £127,900 in London boroughs (whichever is lower).
Flats
You get a 50% discount if you’ve been a public sector tenant for between 3 and 5 years.
After 5 years, the discount goes up 2% for every extra year you’ve been a public sector tenant, up to a maximum of 70% or £96,000 across England and £127,900 in London boroughs (whichever is lower).
Your discount will be less if your landlord has spent money building or maintaining your home. You will not get any discount if your landlord has spent more money than your home is now worth.
Below are some of the lenders we work with
Case Study
Helping one customer buy her council home through the Right-to-Buy scheme
Our customer Ms L wanted to buy her council home, but she had bad credit and wasn’t sure if she could do it.
With Clever Mortgages she was able to:
- Use the Right-to-Buy scheme to buy her council home
- Benefit from the council’s £62,000 discount on the property
- Take out a mortgage with a term of 15 years
- Secure an initial 5 year fixed rate
| Balance | Payment | Rate | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New mortgage | £41,200 | £307.65 | 4.14% | 15 years |
Ms L had lived in her council house for several years and wanted the reassurance of it being her permanent home. She had missed previous payments though on unsecured debts, which had affected her credit score, and she didn’t think she’d be able to take out a mortgage.
Her local authority had offered a £62,000 discount on the price of the property, which meant she only needed a mortgage of less than half its market value. She approached us as she was keen to find out if she could take out a mortgage and not miss out on such a good discount.
At Clever Mortgages we were able to help as we know the lenders that will accept customers with bad credit. Plus, we secured the customer a 5 year fixed monthly payment.
Ms L was delighted to secure her home at a large discount under the Right-to-Buy scheme.
No obligation advice on Right to buy mortgage
For free initial advice from our qualified mortgage brokers about a Right to Buy, call 0800 197 0504 or click below to request a callback at a time to suit you.
