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A tenant's guide - The Right to Buy

How to apply for a Right to Buy

This section aims to take you through each stage of the process of buying your home.

Step 1 - Applying to buy

Start by asking the council's Housing Management Department for the Right to Buy claim form (Form RTB1) or by downloading the form from the council's Right to Buy website. The council must give you one for free if you ask. Fill in the form carefully. It is used to decide:

  • whether you have the Right to Buy; and
  • how much discount you will get. (Be wary of people other than the council offering you forms, especially if they ask you to pay them for this.) When you have filled in the form, return it to the council's Housing Management Department. Because the form is an important legal document, it is a good idea to use recorded delivery or to deliver it by hand and get a receipt, otherwise you may be unable to prove that the council has received the form. You should keep a copy of the completed form for yourself.

Step 2 - The Council's Response Notice

Having received your claim form, the council must send you a notice (Form RTB2) telling you whether you have the Right to Buy. You should get this within 4 weeks from the date on which the council receives your RTB1 form (or within 8 weeks if you have been a tenant of another social landlord as these tenancies will need to be confirmed). If the council says that you don't have the Right to Buy your home, the council will explain why. The property may be one of the exceptions listed in section 4 of this leaflet. If you don't agree with the council's explanation, you can get advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) or from a solicitor. If you are still not satisfied, you can write to the Department of Communities and Local Government at the address given at the end of this leaflet

Step 3 - The Council's Section 125 Notice

If the council has agreed to sell your home to you, you will be contacted to arrange the following:

  • An energy surveyor will contact you to arrange for an Energy Performance Survey. It is a requirement that this is carried out and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) obtained, detailing the energy performance of the property.
  • A valuer will contact you to carry out a valuation of your home. When the valuation has been carried out the Housing Management Department will send you a Section 125 Notice. This Notice tells you the price you have to pay and the terms and conditions of the sale. The council must send this Section 125 Notice to you within 8 weeks from your receipt of your RTB2 form if your home is a house and you are buying a freehold, or within 12 weeks if your home is a flat or maisonette. If you are buying a house on leasehold terms, the time limit is also 12 weeks.

The Section 125 Notice is an important document and you should read it very carefully.

It will tell you five main things:

  • It will describe the property that you have the Right to Buy.
  • It will tell you the price the council considers you should pay for it. To calculate this, the council must first work out how much your home was worth at the date on which you submitted your application form, and then take off your discount.
  • If your discount is reduced by the cash limit, (£84,600 at the present time), or the cost floor (explained in section 7), the notice must say so.
  • If it is a flat or maisonette, it will give estimates of the service charges or improvement costs you will have to pay during the first 5 years after you buy your home.
  • It will describe any structural defects that the council knows about.
  • It will contain the terms and conditions that the council thinks should be attached to the sale. These will be set out on a separate sheet known as 'Appendix A'.

Step 4 - Appealing to the District Valuer

When you receive your Section 125 notice, you may feel that what the council thinks is the full market value of your home is too high. If so, you have a right to obtain an independent valuation from the District Valuer. Before doing so, you have to tell the council, within 3 months of receiving the Section 125 notice, that you want a 'Determination of Value' under Section 128 of the Housing Act 1985. To tell the council this, you can contact the Housing Management Department and request Form TRB5 which should be completed, signed and returned to Housing Management. You have 4 weeks from when you receive this form to return it and the council will then put your case to the District Valuer. He or she will also need to inspect your home.

The District Valuer's valuation will be the one that counts and sets the purchase price. Even if it is higher than the council's valuation, you will still have to accept it or withdraw your application to buy your home.

Step 5 - Resolving other questions about the Section 125 notice

If you want to question anything else in the Section 125 notice (the size of your discount, the effect of the cost floor, service charges, conditions of sale, your home's boundaries etc), you should contact the Housing Management Department. If you and the council disagree about something, you have the right to go to the county court for a ruling.

Step 6 - Getting a Survey

Before you finally decide to buy, you should get an independent survey from a qualified surveyor. When you apply for a mortgage, the bank or building society will have a survey done, but this is only to value your home. It may not uncover any structural problems that may exist.

Step 7 - Getting legal advice

Before deciding whether to buy, you should get legal advice, particularly if you have worries about the terms of the sale. If you don't know a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer, you might ask your bank or building society to suggest one. Your local reference library should also have a list of the solicitors in your area, and details about the type of work they do. You should always ask how much it will cost before you employ a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

Step 8 - Telling the council what you want to do next

You will see that you have two choices at this stage. The information contained in your Section 125 notice may not be straightforward and easy to understand. You will now have to decide if you want to:

  • buy your home outright for the full Right to Buy price, less any discount for which you are eligible.
  • withdraw your application, and carry on paying rent. When you have decided you must tell the council in writing. To help you tell the council in writing the council will have sent you (with the Section 125 Offer Notice) an RTB 20. You should complete this form then sign and date it, and return it to the Housing Management Department

You must return the form RTB20 or a letter advising the council of your decision within 12 weeks of receiving your Section 125 notice. If you have asked to have your house valued by the District Valuer, you must tell the council what you want to do within 12 weeks of getting that valuation. If you do not let the council know what you intend to do in time, the council will send you a Notice of Default. If you do not reply within 28 days, the council will think you don't want to buy, and your application will be withdrawn and will not be dealt with any further.

If for any reason you are not able to decide within the time limit what you want to do, you can ask the council to wait a bit longer for your reply. If you are unable to decide for a genuine reason (for example, if you were in hospital and you could not return the form in time), you should tell the council by contacting the Housing Management Department and your time limit may then be extended automatically. You don't have to buy your home just because you have told the council you want to. You can still change your mind. But if you do not tell the council what you want to do, the council will think you don't want to buy, and you will have to start a new application. If the value of your home has gone up in the meantime, then you will have to pay the higher price.

Step 9 - Enquiring about a mortgage

If you need a mortgage, this is when you should talk to a bank or building society. If you live in a concrete built property (e.g. Reema) the council will consider you for a mortgage, but you should be aware that we will carry out the same credit searches as any other lender. Details of applying for a council mortgage will be included with the s125 Notice. You can obtain details of the terms of a council mortgage at any time.

Step 10 - Completing your purchase

If you are happy with the council's terms for selling your home to you, and you have arranged to raise the money, you are ready to go ahead and buy. You should tell the council that you are ready, and ask your solicitor for advice on the legal documents and making your payment. It may take a couple of months before you become the owner of your home. You can take the time you reasonably need to get a mortgage or legal advice. You should aim to let the council know as soon as you are ready to go ahead and buy. If the council doesn't hear from you for a long time, you may be sent a notice that will ask you either to complete the purchase within 8 weeks or to write and tell the council that you disagree with the terms of the sale. If you don't, the council may send you a second notice asking you to complete your purchase. If you then don't complete, your application will be withdrawn and not be taken any further.

It will help things to go smoothly if, throughout the process, your solicitor keeps the council informed of your circumstances, such as how you are progressing with raising the money or any other issues that may delay the purchase.

Delays or problems with the sale

Most sales go through quickly, but sometimes there are problems or delays. If the council does not send you Form RTB 2 (the notice telling you if you have the Right to Buy) or the Section 125 notice (offer notice) within the times mentioned in the step-by-step guide above, or is otherwise delaying the sale, you may be allowed a reduction in the purchase price. To get this reduction, you first need to fill in an initial notice of delay (Form RTB 6) and send it to the council. You must give the council at least one month to take the next step in the sale process. The council may send you a counter notice if you have already been served with a Response Notice or a Section 125 Notice, or if there is no action that can be taken by the council to speed up the sale. If the council does not send you a counter notice within the time allowed, you can send the council an operative notice of delay (Form RTB 8). The rent you pay while the delay goes on will then be taken off the price you have to pay for your home. If the council delays the sale again, you can repeat this procedure. You can obtain these forms from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

If there are any other problems with the sale and you cannot settle them with the council, you can get advice about your rights at a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) or from a solicitor.

Council leaseholders and right to buy

Right to buy

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