Right to acquire housing association homes
Some housing association tenants can buy their housing association homes at a discount under the right to acquire scheme.
What is the right to acquire?
Right to acquire allows some housing association tenants to purchase their homes at a discount.
Your home must have been built or bought by the housing association after 1 April 1997 and paid for through a social housing grant.
If your home doesn't qualify, your housing association could offer you a different property to buy.
The scheme doesn't apply to housing co-operative tenants.
Right to Buy has more information on the right to acquire
Discounts on the purchase price
Right to acquire discounts are fixed for each area by the government.
Discounts vary from £9,000 to £16,000 depending on where you live.
You may get less in an area where property prices are low.
See Gov.uk for more about right to acquire discounts
Qualifying for the right to acquire
The property you want to buy must be your only or main home.
You (or your spouse or civil partner) must have been a council or housing association tenant for at least 3 years. Time spent in forces accommodation also counts.
If you qualify, you can buy your home:
on your own
with a joint tenant
with up to three family members who have lived in your home for at least the last 12 months
How to apply
Complete form RTA1 or ask your housing association for a form.
If you have the right to acquire, the housing association must send you written notice explaining:
the terms and conditions of the sale
the market value of the property
the discount you will get and how it is calculated
estimates of any service charges you will have to pay
any structural problems the council is aware of
The housing association may offer you a choice between your existing home and other properties.
The housing association has to tell you if you are eligible within:
8 weeks for a house
12 weeks for a flat or maisonette
Visit Gov.uk for more on applying for the right to acquire
Selling your home
You must repay some or all of the discount if either:
you sell your home within the first 5 years
your home is repossessed by your mortgage lender during that time
The amount you have to pay back depends on how soon you sell the property.
The housing association has the right of first refusal if you sell within 10 years.
Housing association homes that can't be sold
Your housing association property won't qualify for the right to acquire if:
it isn't self-contained
you live in sheltered housing where services are provided
it's designed or adapted for people with special needs
it's provided as part of your job (for example, if you are a caretaker)
The housing association must explain its decision if it says you can't buy your housing association home. You don't have the right to appeal this decision.
Other options for buying a housing association home
You may have a different right to buy if you used to be a council tenant, but your home was transferred to a housing association. This is called the preserved right to buy.
Last updated: 23 July 2018