People at meeting

Right to buy

The right of council tenants to purchase their homes from the council became law in the Housing Act 1980.

This right to buy (RTB) has been popular nationwide since it began and in Gravesham more than  a third of the housing stock has now been sold. The chief features of the RTB scheme are as follows:

Most secure tenants have the right to buy, provided that a minimum period has been spent as a secure tenant in the public sector. This minimum period is: two years if you were a secure tenant before 18 January 2005, or five years if your secure tenancy started after that date.

Certain conditions and exceptions apply in the case of a small number of tenants, and these tenants do not have the Right to Buy. (see link on the left)

Buyers enjoy substantial discounts on the market value of their homes, ranging from 32% to 60% in the case of houses and from 44% to 70% in the case of flats and maisonettes, up to a maximum of £38,000.

This maximum applies to most of south-east England, including Gravesham: a lower figure is applicable in other parts of the country. (The lowest is in Wales and most of London, where purchasers are entitled to a maximum discount of only £16,000). The discount is calculated in accordance with the length of tenancy, and any time spent as a tenant of another local authority and/or certain other public bodies (see link on the left) can usually be taken into account

In some cases a restriction known as the "cost floor" applies. This places a further limit on the discount to which a purchase is entitled, if the council has  spent £5,000 or more on building, buying or improving the property within the past 10 years. The effect of this "cost floor" is to prevent the RTB discount from reducing the purchase price of the property to a level where it is less than the sum of the costs incurred by the council.

Mortgages are no longer offered by this authority and therefore need to be arranged via commercial mortgage lenders.

If a property sold under RTB is re-sold within 5 years of the date of purchase some of the discount originally granted is repayable (see link on the left).

In the case of flats and maisonettes, the purchaser buys a long lease (usually 125 years) from the council. There are certain obligations (see link on the left) on the part of both the landlord and the ex-tenant once this type of property has been sold

The council has no obligation to carry out certain repairs and maintenance works once a property is subject to RTB, between the time the application is made and the time the purchase/sale actually takes place. There are however a number of exceptions, and each case is considered individually

The procedure for RTB purchases - a brief summary:

The tenant completes an RTB1 application form (see link below) and the council is required to send a notice (RTB2) to the tenant within four weeks, admitting or denying the right to buy. The reason for a denial (see Conditions and Exceptions on the left) must be given, and in certain cases the tenant has the right to appeal.

If the right to buy is admitted, the council arranges for the property to be valued by a commercial valuer and when the valuation is received, the applicant's discount is calculated. (Tenants who are unhappy with the valuation figure may request a re-valuation by the District Valuer).

Not later than eight weeks after sending the RTB2 admitting the right to buy (12 weeks in the case of flats and maisonettes) , the council is required to send to the tenant a Landlord's Section 125 notice. This document details the market value of the property, the discount granted, the sale price, and the various terms and conditions relating to the sale. The tenant is required to accept or reject the offer within 12 weeks of receiving this Section 125 notice.

Once an offer has been accepted the file passes from Gravesham Housing to the Legal Services Department. The Legal Services Department requests plans and other information from the Property Services Section, and drafts the appropriate documentation, which is sent to the tenant's solicitor for approval prior to completion.

Any further questions?

If you have any further questions on RTB, we will be pleased to help you. Please contact us in one of the following ways:

• Write to Miss J Simmonds, Leasehold Officer, Gravesham Borough Council, Civic Centre, Gravesend, Kent DA12 1AU;
• Telephone 01474 33 71 82 and ask to speak to Miss J Simmonds;
• Email jacqui.simmonds@gravesham.gov.uk
• Fax 01474 33 79 41 (please mark your fax message for the attention of Miss J Simmonds)

Further information is available by downloading the Your Right to Buy your home document (see link below) or by visiting the ODPM website pages relating to Buying, Selling, Owning a Home including RTB (see link below).