Housing

Right to Buy UK 2025 — Discounts, Eligibility and How the Scheme Works

26 May 2025 ⏱ 10 min read 🇬🇧 England Last reviewed: May 2025

Right to Buy has helped over two million council tenants in England become homeowners since its introduction in 1980 — often at discounts of tens of thousands of pounds below market value. But the scheme has undergone several changes in recent years, including a government consultation on reducing discounts, and not every tenant or property qualifies. This guide explains who can apply, how the discount is calculated, the repayment rules, and what the future of the scheme looks like.

What Is Right to Buy?

Right to Buy is a statutory scheme under the Housing Act 1985 that gives eligible secure tenants of local authority (council) homes the legal right to purchase their home at a discount from market value. The discount is funded by the government and reflects the tenant's length of residence — the longer you have lived there, the larger the discount.

Right to Buy applies to properties in England only. Scotland abolished Right to Buy in 2016. Wales ended the scheme in 2019. Northern Ireland has its own separate scheme. In England, the scheme remains active but has been subject to ongoing political debate about its future, particularly given concerns about the depletion of social housing stock.

Right to Buy vs Preserved Right to Buy vs Right to Acquire

There are three related but distinct schemes:

Right to Buy — for secure tenants of a local authority (council). Applies to the majority of council house tenants who have been renting their current home (or any public sector tenancy) for at least three years.
Preserved Right to Buy — for tenants whose council home was transferred to a housing association after 1997 and who were a council tenant at the time of transfer. They retain the Right to Buy they would have had as a council tenant.
Right to Acquire — a separate, less generous scheme for housing association tenants (who do not have Preserved Right to Buy). Available in England, with much smaller discounts (£9,000–£16,000 depending on location).

Calculate your Right to Buy discount based on your tenancy length and property type with our Right to Buy Calculator.

Eligibility Requirements

To exercise Right to Buy, you must meet all of the following:

Secure tenancy — you must be a secure tenant of a local authority. Most council tenants have secure tenancies, but some (such as introductory tenants, demoted tenants, or those in certain accommodation types) do not.
Three years' public sector tenancy — you must have been a public sector tenant (council, housing association, NHS, armed forces, or other qualifying landlord) for at least three years. This does not need to be continuous with the same landlord — qualifying tenancies with different landlords can be added together.
The property is your only or main home
The property is self-contained — shared facilities such as a shared kitchen or bathroom may exclude the property
You are not subject to a bankruptcy order, IVA, or court order relating to your tenancy

Right to Buy Discounts — How Much Can You Get?

The discount depends on how long you have been a public sector tenant, the type of property (house or flat), and the maximum discount cap for your area. Maximum discounts were raised to £87,200 (£116,200 in London) from April 2022.

Property Type	Minimum Qualifying Period	Initial Discount	Extra Per Year	Maximum Discount %
House	3 years	35%	1% per additional year	70%
Flat/Maisonette	3 years	50%	2% per additional year	70%

For a house with 10 years of qualifying tenancy: 35% + (7 × 1%) = 42% discount. For a flat with 10 years: 50% + (7 × 2%) = 64% discount. In all cases, the discount is capped at the lower of: (a) the percentage maximum (70%), (b) the monetary cap (£87,200 or £116,200 in London), or (c) the cost floor (if the landlord has recently spent money on the property, the price cannot fall below what they spent).

Example Calculation

Maria has been a council tenant for 15 years and wants to buy her council flat valued at £200,000 in Birmingham. Her discount is: 50% + (12 × 2%) = 74% — but capped at 70% = £140,000 discount. However, the monetary cap is £87,200. Her purchase price is therefore £200,000 − £87,200 = £112,800. That is still a very significant saving on a £200,000 flat.

Proposed Discount Reductions — The Future of Right to Buy

In 2024, the government launched a consultation proposing to reduce Right to Buy discounts significantly, citing the need to protect social housing stock. Proposals included reducing the maximum discount cap and increasing the repayment period from five to ten years. The consultation also discussed restricting the scheme to properties that have been social housing for longer periods, to prevent councils from acquiring properties for Right to Buy only for them to be sold immediately at a large discount.

As of May 2025, the consultation had concluded and further announcements were expected later in 2025. If you are considering Right to Buy, it is worth acting sooner rather than later if the current discounts remain available, as any reductions would apply to applications received after the reform date.

The Application Process

Submit Form RTB1 — the formal notice of your intention to exercise your Right to Buy. This is the starting point. Your landlord must respond within four weeks (for existing secure tenants) or eight weeks (for newer tenancies) confirming whether you have the right or providing reasons for refusal.
Receive the Section 125 notice (offer notice) — within eight weeks for a house or twelve weeks for a flat, your landlord must send you a formal offer notice setting out the purchase price, details of any structural defects known to the landlord, and service charge estimates for flats.
Respond to the offer — you have 12 weeks to accept or withdraw from the purchase. If you disagree with the valuation, you can apply to the Valuation Office Agency for an independent assessment within three months of the offer notice.
Arrange a mortgage — many mainstream lenders offer mortgages on Right to Buy properties. The discount counts as a deposit in many lenders' eyes, meaning you may be able to borrow 100% of the purchase price with no additional deposit. However, check each lender's criteria as this varies.
Instruct a solicitor — choose a conveyancer experienced in Right to Buy. The landlord's solicitor will also be involved in the legal process.
Complete the purchase — the conveyancing process proceeds as normal. On completion, you receive the title deeds and become the legal owner.

Repayment of Discount — The Five-Year Rule

If you sell your Right to Buy property within five years of purchase, you must repay some or all of the discount you received. The repayment is calculated as follows:

Year 1: 100% of the discount must be repaid
Year 2: 80% of the discount
Year 3: 60% of the discount
Year 4: 40% of the discount
Year 5: 20% of the discount
After year 5: No repayment required

Importantly, the repayment is calculated as a percentage of the market value of the property at the time of sale — not the original purchase price. If you bought at £112,800 (after a £87,200 discount on a £200,000 property) and sell in year two for £220,000, you repay 80% of the discount proportion of the new value. The original discount was 43.6% of the value — 80% of 43.6% of £220,000 = approximately £76,736 — significantly more than the original discount if the property has risen in value.

Letting the property within five years also triggers repayment. If you let your Right to Buy property within five years, this counts as a disposal and triggers the same repayment obligation as a sale. The only exceptions are where the letting is authorised by the landlord in specific circumstances.

First Refusal — The Landlord's Pre-Emption Right

If you sell your Right to Buy property within ten years of purchase, you must first offer it back to your former landlord (the council) or another social housing provider at the full market price. This is the "right of first refusal." The landlord has eight weeks to decide whether to buy it back. After ten years, or if the landlord declines, you can sell on the open market without restriction.

Right to Buy for Flats — Additional Considerations

Buying a council flat through Right to Buy means buying a leasehold interest — you become a leaseholder and the council remains the freeholder. This brings all the usual leasehold considerations: service charges, ground rent (though new leases post-2022 cannot charge ground rent), the council's ongoing management of the building, and eventually the need for a lease extension. Service charges on former council flats can be substantial — particularly for major works contributions. Your Section 125 notice must include an estimate of likely service charges for the next five years, but this is an estimate only and actual charges may be higher.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can family members join my Right to Buy application?+

Yes. Family members who have lived in the property as their only or main home for the past 12 months can join the Right to Buy application. They do not need to be named on the tenancy. Joint applicants' qualifying tenancy periods are combined for discount calculation purposes — the longest qualifying period is used. Including family members can also help with mortgage affordability. However, all joint applicants become joint owners of the property.

My landlord is refusing my Right to Buy application. What can I do?+

Your landlord must give written reasons for refusing your application. Common valid reasons include: the property is not a qualifying dwelling, you do not have a secure tenancy, the property is due for demolition, or the property is specifically designated for older people or those with disabilities. If you believe the refusal is wrong, you can apply to the County Court to have your right confirmed. The Leasehold Advisory Service and Shelter can provide advice on challenging wrongful refusals.

Can I use Right to Buy to buy a property I don't currently live in?+

No. Right to Buy can only be exercised on the property that is your current secure tenancy — the home you actually live in as your only or main residence. You cannot apply Right to Buy to any other property in the council's stock.

What if the council has recently done major works on my property?+

The "cost floor" rule prevents the Right to Buy price from falling below what the landlord has spent on the property in the last 10–15 years (the exact period depends on which version of the cost floor applies). If major works were recently carried out — a new roof, new windows, a refurbishment — the cost floor may significantly limit or eliminate the effective discount. The Section 125 notice will include details of any cost floor that applies.