Right to Buy or Right to Acquire?
What are the differences?
Right to Buy
The Right to Buy scheme is a government initiative that lets council house tenants buy the property they rent. These homes are offered at a discounted price to help renters get on the ladder.
If you have been a public sector tenant for between 3-5 years you get a 35% discount on your council home.
The maximum this can increase to is 70%, or 80% or £87,200 across England and £116,200 in London boroughs. As long as you have been a public sector tenant.
Households wanting to sell within five years, some or all of the discounts need to be paid back.
Right to Acquire
This is a similar scheme to Right to Buy for people who have rented from a housing association or a public sector landlord.
To qualify you need to of lived in the home for a minimum of three years.
This offer could offer a discount of between £9,000 – £16,000 on the property purchase price, varying depending on location of the property.
However, if you decide to sell the property within a 10-year period, the property must be first offered to the original landlord and a price agreed.
If the landlord does not wish to buy the property, a price will need to be agreed, it can then be sold to the open market.
If the property is sold within 5 years, then a percentage or all of the discounts will need to be paid back on a sliding scale.
For more information feel free to reach out. Our consultations are free: hello@mtge.uk