Right to buy

Tenants of Wiltshire Council have the right to purchase their home with a discount after they have lived there for three years.

The council will take into account any tenancy you have held with any other council, housing association or the armed forces.

There are several exceptions to the Right to Buy, such as if your home is part of a sheltered housing scheme for the elderly or is a bungalow and particularly suitable for occupation by the elderly. Please contact us for further details of properties that are exempt.

You will lose your Right to Buy if your tenancy ceases to be a secure tenancy.

From 6 April 2024 the government will increase the discounts applied to Right to Buy applications. The maximum discount permitted from this date will be £102,400.

For more information please contact our Leasehold and Sales Team on 0300 456 0117 Option 6 or housingincome@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window).

A booklet is available from the government which explains the procedure. This can be obtained by ringing 0300 456 0117 Option 6, by going to the GOV.UK website  (opens new window).

If you decide to apply, you must complete the RTB1 notice claiming the right to buy application form and the solvency declaration form.

The RTB1 notice claiming the right to buy application form and the solvency declaration form must be completed and returned to the housing department before the process can begin.

Right to Buy application forms can be obtained by ringing the leasehold & Sales Team on: 0300 4560117 (option 6) or by emailing housingincome@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window).

Once the application form is received the details are checked and if you are eligible, you will be sent a form RTB2 which informs you that your application has been accepted.

No. The file is passed to an Independent valuer who will contact you to make an appointment to visit you home in order to determine the market value. It is important that you show them improvements that you have made to your property in order that the valuer can deduct them from the final valuation.

When the valuation is received we will send you an offer notice which will clearly state:

• the market value of your property
• the amount of discount you are entitled to
• the price at which you can buy your property

If you disagree with the valuation figure you can request that the district valuer carry out a revaluation, but the decision is final and binding.

You can cancel your right to buy application at any time in writing with no cost to yourself.

Once a right to buy application is received no modernisation or non-urgent repairs will be carried out to your property.

If you live in a concrete (PRC) property, you will also receive details of council mortgages and how to obtain one. If however, you live in traditionally built property (brick) you will have to obtain a mortgage from the usual sources, such as a bank or building society.

A factsheet called 'Council right to buy' can be found on the housing factsheets page.

When you buy a flat from the council, you are buying only part of a larger building. We, as the owner of the block, keep responsibility for maintaining all shared parts and services such as caretaking, lighting, cleaning and so on. We are entitled to a contribution towards the cost of managing and maintaining the block. This kind of ownership is called 'leasehold'.

There are approximately 455 council leasehold properties in the Salisbury and South Wiltshire area.

Your lease tells you who is responsible for repairing the various parts of the block and your flat.

The council is usually responsible for all repairs to shared facilities such as communal entrance doors, lighting, shared heating, the roof and structure of the building.

Repairs to areas or items within the property such as internal doors, kitchen units, bathroom suite or floor and wall surfaces are the usually responsibility of the leaseholder to maintain.

If you would like to report a repair, please contact Housing Repairs

Your responsibilities

Your exact responsibilities as a leaseholder depend on what is in your lease. However, your general responsibilities are to:

• pay a service charge, which will be a percentage of our costs of managing and maintaining the block
• pay the 'ground rent', insurance and all other charges for which you are liable
• keep your home in good repair and condition
• use your home only as a single private flat for residential use
• avoid annoying your neighbours or causing an inconvenience
• not to carry out any structural alterations or improvements to your home without our written permission beforehand
• repay the required amount of discount if you sell the property within three or five years
• get our prior written permission to keep a dog, cat or other animal in the flat
• get our written permission to put up an outside aerial or other television or radio-receiving apparatus
• ensure that you do not bring bottled petroleum gas (for example, Calor gas cylinders) or any other potentially explosive material into your flat or maisonette or anywhere in the building or estate

Your rights

You have the right, along with any other person going to or from your home, to:

1. use any part of the estate or block that provides access to or away from your home
2. have access to a water and electricity supply for your flat or maisonette and
3. live peacefully without suffering any nuisance, assault or harassment from your neighbours

Wiltshire Council is committed to the fight against fraud in all its forms. An applicant who fraudulently claims the Right to Buy by falsely declaring their circumstances, providing a false statement or evidence in support of their application may have committed an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. Where it is alleged, or the authority suspects that such a fraud may have been committed, the matter will be investigated and if fraud is found action will be taken, including, if appropriate criminal proceedings.

In our efforts to combat fraud all applicants detailed on the Right To Buy application forms will be subject to residency and or credit checks via other council departments, credit reference agencies or other organisations able to supply such information.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money laundering and to verify your identity. If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finances or employment. Further details of how your information will be used by us and these fraud prevention agencies, and your data protection rights, can be found at https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn (opens new window).

By completing, signing and submitting an application for Right to Buy to Wiltshire Council, you acknowledge and give permission for such checks to be carried out.