Right to Acquire and Right to Buy
Published on 10 June 2022
This page gives you information about the current statutory options available for tenants to purchase their home. We provide a broad overview of the options available below:
Please note: There is detailed eligibility criteria which can only be assessed following an application.
If you have any questions, please complete our enquiry form and the Property Sales team will get in touch.
Right to Acquire
The Right to Acquire allows eligible tenants to buy the home they rent with a discount of between £9,000 and £16,000 depending on where their property is located in the country.
Am I eligible?
If you are one of our tenants, you may be eligible to purchase your home through Right to Acquire if;
- You rent your home from us and have been a public sector tenant for more than 3 years AND
- Your property was built or acquired by us after 1 April 1997 with eligible grant funding AND
- Your property is not located in a designated rural area AND
- Your property is not an excluded property, such as sheltered accommodation or specifically for elderly or disabled people AND
- You are not an undischarged bankrupt, have a bankruptcy petition pending against you or have obtained a debt relief order AND
- You are not subject to an outstanding possession order
You can read more about the eligibility criteria for Right to Acquire on the Government website.
What discount am I entitled to?
The discount you are entitled to depends on where your property is located in the country.
The discount available is a fixed amount between £9,000 and £16,000.
You can check the discount available for your area here.
Can I afford to purchase my home?
Becoming a homeowner is a big decision and we strongly recommend you take independent financial advice to check whether home ownership is for you and investigate property prices in your area and whether you can get a mortgage before applying to buy your home.
If you purchase your home, you will become responsible for costs which you may not pay as a tenant; such as mortgage repayments, buildings insurance, service charges, life assurance, mortgage protection insurance, the cost of repairing and maintaining your home, in addition to other regular payments like council tax and utilities.
To get an idea of the value of your home, you can look at the sold prices of similar properties on Rightmove or Zoopla. You can also use Zoopla’s home value tool to get an estimate of your home’s value.
You may need a mortgage to fund the purchase of your home. We suggest you speak to an independent financial advisor or mortgage advisor to discuss whether getting a mortgage is the right option for you. You can find more information on how to find a financial advisor here.
In addition to the ongoing costs of homeownership, there are some upfront costs that you will need to pay. These costs may include legal and survey fees, stamp duty, valuation fees and the costs associated with taking out a mortgage, such as mortgage arrangement fees.
You can get more information on the costs of homeownership and get free advice from the Government’s Right to Buy advisers here.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up with repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on it.
What happens next?
To avoid any disappointment when submitting your application, you can check whether you qualify for Right to Acquire by contacting the Property Sales Team by email at Property.Sales@placesforpeople.co.uk.
Right to Buy
The Right to Buy allows eligible tenants buy the home they rent with a discount of up to £96,000 (or £127,900 in London).
Am I eligible?
As a customer of Places for People Homes Limited or Places for People Living+ Limited you may be eligible to purchase your home through Right to Buy or Preserved Right to Buy if;
- You rent your home from us and have a ‘secure’ tenancy (usually a tenancy granted to you by us before 15 January 1989) or have succeeded to a secure tenancy from a family member OR
- You were a Council tenant when your home was transferred to the Group (for example by Huntingdonshire District Council or Sheffield City Council) AND
- You don’t live in an excluded property, such as sheltered accommodation or housing specifically for elderly or disabled people AND
- You are not an undischarged bankrupt or have a bankruptcy petition pending against you or have obtained a debt relief order AND
- You do not have any outstanding possession orders
You can read more about the eligibility criteria for Right to Buy on the Government website.
The Right to Buy is not available for all customers with a secure tenancy.
What discount am I entitled to?
The discount you are entitled to depends on how long you have been a public sector tenant. Your entitlement is based upon your occupation with any public sector landlord (such as a Council or a Housing Association). Details of all the types of public sector landlord there are can be found in sections 10 and 11 of the “Your Right to Buy Your Home” document.
The maximum discount available is £96,000 (or £127,900 in London).
To get an idea of the discount you may be entitled to, try the Government’s online calculator here.
Can I afford to purchase my home?
Becoming a homeowner is a big decision and we strongly recommend you take independent financial advice to check whether home ownership is for you and investigate property prices in your area and whether you can get a mortgage before applying to buy your home.
If you purchase your home, you will become responsible for costs which you may not pay as a tenant; such as mortgage repayments, buildings insurance, service charges, life assurance, mortgage protection insurance, the cost of repairing and maintaining your home, in addition to other regular payments like council tax and utilities.
To get an idea of the value of your home, you can look at the sold prices of similar properties on Rightmove or Zoopla. You can also use Zoopla’s home value tool to get an estimate of your home’s value.
You may need a mortgage to fund the purchase of your home. We suggest you speak to an independent financial advisor or mortgage advisor to discuss whether getting a mortgage is the right option for you. You can find more information on how to find a financial advisor here.
In addition to the ongoing costs of homeownership, there are some upfront costs that you will need to pay. These costs may include legal and survey fees, stamp duty, valuation fees and the costs associated with taking out a mortgage, such as mortgage arrangement fees.
You can get more information on the costs of homeownership and get free advice from the Government’s Right to Buy advisers here.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up with repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on it.
What happens next?
To avoid any disappointment when submitting your application, you can check whether you qualify for Right to Buy by contacting the Property Sales Team by email at Property.Sales@placesforpeople.co.uk.
Voluntary Right to Buy
In 2018, the Government commenced a pilot scheme of the Voluntary Right to Buy Scheme for tenants of Housing Associations. This pilot scheme has now closed. The Midland’s pilot has been evaluated by the Government, a copy of the evaluation can be found on the Government’s Right to Buy Agency website.
We are aware that the Government has indicated plans to extend the Right to Buy to more housing association tenants. Unfortunately, we do not have any further information on the planned Right to Buy extension at this time.
When we receive further information about the proposed Right to Buy extension, we will update this information. In the meantime you can find the most up to date information on the Government’s Right to Buy Agency website.