Right to Buy: buying your council home
Selling your home
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 cannot agree, a district valuer will say how much your home is worth and set the price. You will not have to pay for their valuation.
You can sell your home to anyone if the landlord does not 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.