Raising ‘right to buy’ discounts

The coalition government has announced plans to raise ‘right to buy’ discounts so as to make them more attractive to social housing tenants. The government’s ‘right to buy’ scheme helps social tenants in England and Wales buy their social home by offering it to them at a discount of its true market value. The hope is that by increasing the discounts more council tenants will be able and willing to take advantage of the scheme.

Tenants have the right to buy their social home if they are considered a secure tenant (usually an individual who has been a council tenant for 12 months or longer). The scheme is also available to tenants with the preserved right to buy. A tenant has a preserved right to buy if the council sold the tenant’s home to another landlord, such as a housing association, while the tenant was living in it. Importantly, the scheme is not available to tenants with the ‘right to acquire’, i.e. those tenants renting a property from a housing association.

Despite the lack of available credit in the current economic climate, government officials believe the extent of the discounts is such that any mortgage will be of a low enough proportion of the value of the house that lenders will perceive little risk in offering a mortgage.

The government has vowed that for every home bought under the ‘right to buy’ scheme a new affordable home will be built to replace it – in addition to existing social housing development plans.

Holmes & Hills Solicitors' Residential Property Team undertake 'right to buy' conveyancing services.