Right to Buy Conveyancing: Step by Step Guide for Council Tenants

To qualify for Right to Buy you must:

• ●Be a secure tenant of a local authority, housing association (if part of the Voluntary Right to Buy pilot), or other qualifying public sector landlord
• ●Have spent at least three years as a public sector tenant in total (this can be cumulative across multiple tenancies)
• ●Be living in the property as your main home
• ●Not be subject to a possession order, undischarged bankruptcy, or certain other restrictions

This is where most out-of-date guidance goes wrong. The rules changed on 21 November 2024, and the maximum cash discount is now set by region, not by a single national figure:

• ●North East: £22,000
• ●North West: £26,000
• ●Yorkshire and the Humber: £24,000
• ●East Midlands: £24,000
• ●West Midlands: £26,000
• ●Eastern: £34,000, or £16,000 in Watford
• ●South East: £38,000, or £16,000 in certain specified areas
• ●South West: £30,000
• ●London: £16,000, or £38,000 in Barking and Dagenham and in Havering

If you have seen figures of £102,400 outside London and £136,400 in London, those were the caps for applications received before 21 November 2024 and no longer apply to a new application.

The actual discount you receive depends on how long you have been a public sector tenant and the value of the property. A house attracts a higher percentage than a flat at the same length of tenancy.

For a house, the discount is 35 percent if you have been a public sector tenant for between three and five years, then rises by one percent for each further year. For a flat, it is 50 percent between three and five years, then rises by two percent for each further year. Either way the discount is capped at 70 percent of the property's value or the regional cash maximum above, whichever is lower.

You start the process by submitting the RTB1 form to your council. The council has four weeks to respond with an RTB2 form, confirming whether you qualify. If you do not qualify, they must explain why.

Once eligibility is confirmed, the council appoints an independent valuer to value the property at full market value. This valuation, minus your discount, is the price you will pay. You have a right to challenge the valuation within three months if you think it is too high, by requesting a determination by the District Valuer.

The council must serve you a formal Section 125 notice within twelve weeks (or twenty four weeks for flats). This notice includes:

• ●The price you will pay after discount
• ●A description of the property
• ●The terms of the sale
• ●Any structural defects the council is aware of
• ●An estimate of service charges for the next five years (if leasehold)

You have twelve weeks from receipt of this notice to accept the offer.

Once you accept the offer, instruct a conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer who is experienced in Right to Buy transactions. The legal work covers the same ground as any purchase: title check, searches, mortgage liaison, Land Registry filing. There are a few Right to Buy specific extras:

• ●The discount clawback period (described below) must be explained and documented
• ●The council's standard lease (for flats) must be reviewed carefully because it cannot usually be negotiated
• ●The mortgage offer must accommodate the discount

Most major lenders offer Right to Buy mortgages and most accept the discount as your deposit, meaning you can buy with a zero cash deposit if the discount covers it. Some specialist Right to Buy lenders go further. Your conveyancer will work with your broker to make sure the mortgage offer meets the council's requirements.

Once searches are back, enquiries are answered, and the mortgage offer is in, you exchange contracts with the council and set a completion date. Completion is typically two to four weeks after exchange.

If you sell the property within five years of buying it under Right to Buy, you have to repay some or all of the discount. The clawback is:

• ●100 percent in year one
• ●80 percent in year two
• ●60 percent in year three
• ●40 percent in year four
• ●20 percent in year five

The repayable amount is calculated against the resale value, not the original purchase price, so if the property has gone up in value the clawback can be significant. Right to Buy is best treated as a long term commitment, not a short term flip.

Separately from the discount clawback, if you sell within ten years of buying you must first offer the property back to your former landlord or another social landlord in the area. They have eight weeks to decide. Only once that period passes, or they decline, can you sell on the open market. This catches people out because it runs for twice as long as the clawback, so a sale in years six to ten is free of repayment but still needs the offer-back step built into the timetable.

Legal fees for a Right to Buy purchase typically run £700 to £1,200 plus VAT. Disbursements (searches, Land Registry, ID checks) add another £350 to £550. Stamp Duty rules depend on the discounted purchase price, not the market value, so most Right to Buy purchases fall well within the first time buyer relief threshold.

Allow six to nine months from RTB1 application to completion. The council side is rarely the bottleneck. Mortgage offers and your own conveyancer's pace make the biggest difference.

Several panel firms specialise in Right to Buy conveyancing. We can match you to one familiar with your council's specific requirements, with a fixed fee quote that accounts for the Right to Buy steps without surprise extras.