Council or Housing Association tenants
Home Ownership
for [……]
Council Tenants
[Insert authors name]
[Job title] [Team]
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Council or Housing Association tenants
What this presentation is about
• What is Right to Buy
• A step-by-step guide to buying your home:
Step One: Find out if you are eligible
Step Two: Work out the discount
Step Three: Work out the costs get advice
Step Four: Fill in an application form
Step Five: Receive an offer from your landlord
Step Six: Surveys, loans and more advice
Step Seven: Complete your purchase
• Useful contacts
• Any questions?
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Council or Housing Association tenants
What is Right to Buy?
• Right to Buy is a scheme that
gives council tenants
the opportunity to buy
their homes at a discount.
• In April 2012 and March
2013, the top discount on
Right to Buy was increased
and now tenants can buy
their home with up to a 70%
discount.
• Two million homes have
been bought under Right
to Buy since 1980 when
the scheme began.
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step One: Are you eligible?
You could be eligible for a Right to Buy discount if:
You are a council tenant – or have been a council
tenant when your home was sold to your current landlord
You have been a tenant for at least 5 years
You don’t live in sheltered housing or other housing
particularly suitable for elderly or disabled people
The property is your only or main home.
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Two: How much discount?
The level of discount depends on two things:
How long you have been a secure council tenant
You must have been a tenant for five years or more
(this doesn’t need to be continuous) and the discount
goes up for every year over this
Whether you live in a house or a flat
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Two: How much discount?
For a house:
• Discounts start at 35% after 5 years’ tenancy
• Add 1% for each extra year that you have been a tenant,
• Up to maximum 60% discount – or £75,000 (whichever is the lower).
For a flat:
• Discounts start at 50% of market value after 5 years’ tenancy
• Add 2% for each extra year that you have been a tenant
• Up to a maximum 70% discount – or £75,000
(whichever is the lower).
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Some worked examples
Example 1
Miss X is buying her flat
Current flat value:
Years as a tenant:
£120,000
10 years
Percentage discount:
(50% + 2% for each year over 5 years)
Value of discount:
60%
Price she will pay:
(£120,000 less £72,000)
£48,000
£72,000
NB. Discounts may be smaller if your landlord has carried out any major work on your property
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Some worked examples
Example 2
Mr and Mrs J are buying their house
Current house value:
£200,000
Years as tenants:
10 years
Percentage discount:
(35% + 1% for each year over 5 years)
Value of discount: £75,000 as £80,000
(40% of £200,000) is greater
40%
Price they will pay:
(£200,000 less £75,000)
£125,000
NB. Discounts may be smaller if your landlord has carried out any major work on your property
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Three: Work out the costs
Costs you need to think about.
You should also compare with what you are paying now.
One-off purchase costs:
•
•
•
•
Survey fees
Legal fees
Mortgage fees
Stamp duty
Ongoing costs:
• Mortgage repayments
• Service charges
• Insurance payments
• Living costs
Other:
• Major repairs
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Mortgages
You will probably need to apply for a mortgage.
•
A mortgage is a loan you take out over an agreed number
of years and pay back with interest.
•
Make sure you shop around and find the best deal for you.
There are a wide variety of mortgage products on the market.
•
Free advice is available but some people will charge a fee so
always check costs upfront. Talk to our independent advisers
here today, the Money Advice Service or Citizen Advice Bureau.
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Three: Seek advice
Make sure you seek
advice as early as possible
Pick up a handy guide to
mortgages from the Money Advice
Service on the Right to Buy stand
Visit their website at
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Three: Seek advice
For more information on Right to
Buy, visit the Right to Buy website at
www.communities.gov.uk/righttobuy.
You will find some practical tools to
help you work out if Right to Buy is
for you, including an eligibility quiz
and discount calculator.
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Three: Seek advice
Talk to the mortgage
advisers from the Citizens
Advice Bureau for
free impartial advice, or visit
www.adviceguide.org.uk
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Four: Fill in an application form
The Right to Buy application form
is called RTB1
You can pick up a copy today – or download
it from the Right to Buy website
www.communities.gov.uk/righttobuy
Fill this in and send it by recorded
delivery to your landlord.
For help with filling it in, speak to the
housing officers here today.
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Five: Valuation and offer
Return the RTB1 form.
Your landlord will contact you
to confirm you are eligible and
to arrange for someone to
come and value your home.
The landlord then has
up to 12 weeks to send
an offer letter for a flat
and 8 weeks for a house
Your landlord will send you an offer notice
within 8 weeks for a house (S125),
setting out:
• the property value
• discount
• price you’ll pay
• any structural problems they know about
• terms and conditions.
For leasehold properties, you will also
be given an estimate of service charges
over the next 5 years.
You have up to 12 weeks to accept this offer.
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Step Six: Surveys, loans and more advice
If you accept the offer, you will need to:
• get a survey done
• appoint a solicitor
• and apply for a mortgage
Talk to the advisers today for advice!
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Congratulations – You are now a homeowner!
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Useful Contacts
For more information
• Visit our stalls next door
• Visit www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk for financial advice
• Visit: www.adviceguide.org.uk for info about legal advice
• Visit our website [www…….]
• Call the [home ownership team on…………]
• Visit www.communities.gov.uk/righttobuy for more info
on Right to Buy and how to apply
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Council or Housing Association tenants
Any questions?
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