Buying Your Council House

Many of us live in council houses and have done for many years and as time goes by we might want to consider buying a home depending on how our circumstances have changed. To this end many families are now considering their rights to buy the council houses in which they live as these are often much cheaper than other houses to buy and in the long term it means they do not have to move or have the hassle of searching for somewhere else to live.

Can I Buy My Council House?

The answer to this is yes you can; the Right to Buy allows most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount. However, there are different rules for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If I Buy My Council House Will It Be Cheaper?

Most certainly but you need to check with your local authority before making any definite moves to buy your property. The current discounts offered are; 35% if you’ve been a public sector housing tenant and 50% if you have been a tenant of a flat, for between 3 and 5 years. After 5 years, the discount goes up by 1% for every extra year you’ve been a public sector housing tenant (2% flat), up to a maximum of 70%. However, you’ll usually have to repay some or all your discount if you sell your home within 5 years.

How Do I Exercise My Right to Buy?

First off you should contact your local authority and make arrangements to speak with the housing officer who will give you all the details of how to go about buying your home. The local authority will tell you once you have a decision as to exactly how much they are asking for your property. You will have an allotted period of time to set everything in motion and it is recommended that you have a solicitor already prepared to assist you in purchasing your property.

You should be aware however that there are certain conditions attached to you buying your home.

Conditions laid down by the Local Council

Your local council will include certain clauses into any contract you enter into with them, the main one being that if you wish to sell the property within ten years of purchasing it from them that they are given first refusal. In other words you cannot sell the property to anyone other than the council within ten years of buying the house. This may sound limiting but the likelihood is you won’t want to sell your house within that time scale anyway given that most individuals who buy their council homes have lived in them for a long period of time already.

Can My Local Council Refuse to Sell Me my Council House?

Sadly yes they can and this is normally for reasons of debt or bankruptcy. If you have been declared bankrupt or are about to be declared bankrupt then the local authority may refuse to sell the property to you on the basis that you are a high risk. This can sometimes lead to a refusal for a mortgage and therefore can leave the council in the throes of a sale that cannot be completed. Likewise if you have had court proceedings instigated against you at another property ordering you to leave the local authority can refuse to sell the house to you.

You have three months from the time you enter into the buying of a house to complete the sale, if you have not completed by this time the local authority can refuse to sell you the property and pull out of any negotiations. Unfortunately that is their right just as it is yours. Once the three month period has expired the local authority can either give you more time to make the relevant arrangements or they can simply decide to negate any offers of purchase prices or discounts. You should be aware that if this is the case then the period in which you were eligible for discount can be returned to zero and you will have to wait another five years to try again.

What to Do First

Before entering into any firm agreements you should speak to your housing officer and find out from them how much the council would reasonably expect for the house you currently occupy. At this point you can then apply for a mortgage; there are many organisations specialising in mortgages for right-to-buy tenants and they can be found in your local Yellow Pages or business directory.