Right to buy for council tenants
A secure tenant or licensee has the right to buy their council home if they meet the qualifying period for residence requirements and are not subject to an exception.
What is the right to buy
A secure tenant who meets certain qualifying criteria can buy the freehold or leasehold of their property through the right to buy.
A tenant who wants to exercise the right to buy must:
be a secure tenant or secure licensee
meet the qualifying period for residence requirements
not fall into one of the exceptions to the right to buy
A tenant who exercises the right to buy can purchase the property at a discounted price.
Find out about council tenant right to buy discounts and the right to buy process on Shelter Legal.
Which tenants can apply
An applicant who wants to exercise the right to buy must be a secure tenant or secure licensee.[1] A flexible tenant is a type of secure tenant. Introductory and demoted tenants do not have the right to buy.[2]
Any combination of joint tenants can exercise the right to buy if they all agree.[3] At least one of the tenants or their spouses must be occupying the property as their only or principal home.
Local authority tenants
The right to buy applies to secure tenants of local authority landlords. This includes district councils, county councils, London borough councils, new towns, urban development corporations and housing action trusts.
Tenants of PRPSHs
Some secure council tenants had their tenancies transferred to a private registered provider of social housing (PRPSH). These tenants are now assured tenants and have a 'preserved right to buy'.[4]
Other assured tenants of PRPSHs may be able to purchase under the right to acquire. Find out more about the right to acquire.
Joint applications for the right to buy
A tenant has the right to share the right to buy with up to three non-tenants who are members of their family.[5] Family members must live in the property as their only or principal home.
Family members can include either the tenant's spouse or a member of the family who has lived in the property with the tenant for the 12 months prior to the application. The landlord has discretion to allow other members of the family who do not meet the residence condition to be included.
Members of the family who are to be included in the right to buy must be included in the tenants' notice claiming the right. Once they have been included, they are treated as if they are joint tenants for the purposes of the right to buy.
Find out more about the right to buy process.
Qualifying period for the right to buy
An applicant must meet the qualifying period of time spent as a public sector tenant before the right to buy can be claimed.[6] The minimum period of occupation does not have to be continuous or in the same property.
A public sector tenancy is defined as a tenancy or licence with certain public landlords. Public landlords include local authorities, new town corporations, housing action trusts, urban development corporations.[7]
Tenancies which began on or after 18 January 2005
A tenant whose tenancy began or or after 18 January 2005 must have at least three years' residence to qualify for the right to buy.
Tenancies which began before 18 January 2005
A tenant whose tenancy began before 18 January 2005 must have at least two years' residence to qualify for the right to buy.
What counts towards the qualifying period
Any time spent as a secure, flexible or introductory tenant counts towards the qualifying period.[8] This applies whether the tenant was a joint or a sole tenant. Time spent as a demoted tenant does not count.[9]
The tenant or their spouse must occupy the property as their only or principal home.[10] In the case of joint tenants, occupation by at least one joint tenant is sufficient.
An applicant can count time where they or their spouse were in occupation of armed forces accommodation.[11]
An applicant can count time where they or their spouse were a qualifying person for the purposes of the preserved right to buy, and occupied the property as their only or principal home.[12]
Exceptions to the right to buy
There are some situations where a secure tenant does not have the right to buy.[13]
Tenancy is not secure
A tenant does not have the right to buy where the tenancy or licence is not secure, or where the tenancy has ceased to be secure.
The right to buy is not available where the landlord holds the property on a tenancy from the Crown.[14]
Properties let for specific purposes
The right to buy is not available for some properties let for specific purposes, such as those let for older people, for physically or mentally disabled people or in connection with employment. For example, properties on school grounds.[15]
Bankruptcy or debt relief orders
The right to buy is not available where the tenant is an undischarged bankrupt, has a bankruptcy hearing pending, has an outstanding arrangement with creditors or is subject to a debt relief order.[16]
Authority does not own the freehold
An applicant cannot buy the freehold interest if the authority does not own it.
Where the property is a house, the applicant has a right to buy a leasehold interest only if the landlord is able to grant a lease of over 21 years. Where the property is a flat, the applicant has a right to buy the leasehold only if the landlord is able to grant a lease of over 50 years.[17]
Demolition of the property
The right to buy is not available where the landlord intends to demolish the property within 24 months.[18]
In one case, a secure tenant contended that demolition of his flat violated his rights under Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions. The High Court held that the right to exercise the right to buy did not constitute a ‘possession’, and that any interference would be proportionate and justified by the need to facilitate redevelopment.[19]
When the right to buy can be lost or suspended
A local authority can initially accept that the tenant has the right to buy, but can then refuse to complete the sale in certain circumstances.
Tenancy ceases to be secure
A tenant can lose the right to buy if the tenancy ceases to be secure before completion. For example, if the tenant moves out of the property so it is no longer their only or principal home.[20]
Property is due to be demolished
A tenant can lose the right to buy in some cases where the property is due to be demolished within 24 months. Where the right to buy application has already started, the application will be suspended.[21]
Authority obtains or applies for suspension order
The right to buy can be lost where the council has obtained or applied for a suspension order suspending the right to buy because of anti-social behaviour.[22]
Authority obtains or applies for demotion order
The right to buy can be lost where the council has obtained or applied for a demotion order.[23] Find out more about demoted tenancies.
Tenant is subject to possession proceedings
A tenant can lose the right to buy where the landlord has obtained a court order which obliges the tenant to give up possession.[24] This includes postponed and suspended possession orders.[25]
A tenant can also lose the right to buy where the authority has applied for a possession order under ground 2 or 2ZA, or section 84A of the Housing Act 1985.[26]
Where the authority has applied for possession and the tenant has applied for an injunction to enforce the right to buy, the court should decide when and in what order it will deal with the cases.[27] The court should consider the sequence of events and the seriousness of the allegations against the tenant when deciding how to exercise its discretion.[28]
In one case, the court granted an injunction compelling the local authority to complete the purchase even though it was seeking possession on the basis of anti-social behaviour.[29]
Possession for under-occupation
Where possession is sought under ground 16 (or 15A) for under-occupation and the tenant has applied to exercise the right to buy, both claims should be heard together and judged evenly on their merits.[30]
In one case, a tenant had succeeded to a tenancy and applied for the right to buy, and the local authority then commenced possession proceedings on the grounds of under-occupation. The court held that the right to buy application should be allowed to proceed.[31]
The Court of Appeal has held that where a property had been possessed on the ground of under-occupation, the right to buy would not be extinguished in respect of the next property a tenant occupied as a secure tenant.[32]
Right to buy for successors
A successor to a secure tenancy can exercise the right to buy. Find out more about council tenancy succession.
Where a secure tenant dies during the right to buy procedure, a successor can require that the transaction is completed on the same terms as would have been available if the tenant had lived. This includes any discount the deceased tenant was entitled to.[33]
Qualifying periods and succession to a tenancy
A successor can count their own period of occupation before they succeeded to the tenancy for the purposes of meeting the qualifying period.[34]
Where the tenant is a successor to their parents' tenancy, they can count the time as tenant after the succession. Time before the succession can be included after they reached the age of 16 and lived in the property as their only or principal home. If there was a gap of more than two years between periods of occupation, then only those periods since the gap count.[35]
Where there is no right to succession
Where no one qualifies to succeed, the right to buy ceases to exist as the tenancy is no longer secure, even where the council has been guilty of delaying the transaction.[36]
A family member who is not entitled to succeed can still exercise the right to buy if they were joined to the tenant's application before they died and remain in occupation. After a valid joint application is made, the family member is deemed to be a joint tenant for the purpose of completing the right to buy transaction.[37] The family member can then exercise the right to buy even if there has been a previous succession.[38] The right to buy can still be exercised where the local authority have not acknowledged the family member's right to buy at the time of the tenant's death.[39]
Right to buy discounts
A tenant exercising the right to buy receives a discount on the purchase of the property.
The amount of the discount varies depending factors such as the location of the property, how long the tenant has been resident and whether the property is a house or flat.
Find out more about council tenant right to buy discounts.
Fraudulent right to buy claims
A fraudulent claim for the right to buy is a criminal offence under the Fraud Act 2006.
Local authorities can compel certain organisations to provide them with information where it is reasonably required for the purpose of preventing, detecting or securing evidence for the conviction of an offence of making a fraudulent claim.[40]
These organisations include banks, building societies and other providers of credit, telecommunications providers and utilities companies.
Government guidance on the right to buy
The government's Right to Buy guide includes information about the application process and discounts.
General advice on the right to buy scheme and contact details for Right to Buy Agent service is available on Gov.uk.
Own your home has further advice for tenants interested in the right to buy scheme.
Last updated: 2 December 2024