Right to Buy Policy

1. Introduction 

1.1  This Policy outlines our approach to the Right to Buy (RTB) scheme, detailing: 

• Who has the right to buy their home
• Which homes are excluded from the RTB scheme
• What we’ll do if your property is not eligible
• How we’ll value your home
• How the discount is calculated
• Your responsibilities once you’ve bought your home 

1.2  When we use ‘you’ and ‘your’ we mean tenants. The terms ‘we’, ‘our’, and ‘us’ mean Norwich City Council. 

2. Who has the right to buy their home?

2.1  To apply to buy your home, you must meet all the following criteria: 

• Have a Secure tenancy.
• Can prove you’ve been a tenant of social or affordable housing for three years. This does not need to have been with the same landlord or for a continuous period.
• Are a British National or settled in the UK.
• Have a clear rent account at the point of completion.
• Meet any additional Government eligibility criteria for RTB. 

2.2   You are not eligible to buy your home if you: 

•  Are subject to legal proceedings (e.g. an injunction or a Notice of Seeking Possession) for a breach of tenancy, for example for anti-social behaviour, rent arrears or not allowing access. We will end your application if legal proceedings start during the application or sales process. 

2.3  If you’re applying jointly with a spouse, civil partner, and/or up to three other family members, you must demonstrate: 

• It is the main home of every applicant.
• It has been their home for at least 12 months, even if they’re not named on the tenancy agreement. 

If one joint applicant is ineligible, or you want to add or remove a joint applicant, we will end your application and you will need to reapply. 

If a joint tenant does not wish to buy their home, you must get their agreement before you apply to buy the property. Their tenancy will end once you buy your home, and they will have no legal right to live at the property as a tenant. 

2.4  If at any time during the application process we suspect fraud or money laundering, we’ll suspend your application pending further investigation. 

3. Are there any properties we will not sell under the RTB? 

3.1  We will refuse your application to buy your home if your home is: 

•  Supported housing, including homes that the council considers particularly suitable for elderly or disabled occupation as per Schedule 5 of the Housing Act.

4. What happens if your home is not available for sale? 

4.1  If you are eligible for RTB, but your property is not available to buy, you may apply to Mutually exchange from your current home to a new property which would be eligible to be purchased under the RTB scheme.

5. How is the discount calculated? 

5.1  Your discount will depend on the number of years you’ve been a tenant of social or affordable housing. This is known as the qualifying period. This does not need to be with the same landlord or a continuous period. This includes time spent holding an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). 

5.2  For freehold sales (houses), you’re entitled to a 35% discount if you’ve been a tenant of social or affordable housing for three to five years. You’re entitled to a further 1% for each additional whole year. This is up to a current maximum discount of 70% or the maximum cap*, based on the value of the property you are buying.

5.3  For leasehold sales (usually flats), you’re entitled to a 50% discount if you’ve been a tenant of social or affordable housing for three to five years. You’re entitled to a further 2% for each additional whole year. This is up to a current maximum discount of 70% or the maximum cap*, based on the value of the property you are buying.

*The Government reviews the maximum discounts annually and these are available on our website.

5.4   If you’ve previously received funding under Right to Buy, Preserved Right to Buy or Right to Acquire, we’ll reduce your discount by that amount. 

5.5  We’ll deduct your discount from the market valuation of the property you’re buying. 

6. How will we value your property? 

6.1  We will arrange and pay for an independent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) qualified surveyor to value your property for sale. 
 
6.2  The surveyor will reduce the valuation to take account of improvements you’ve made to your home, such as a new bathroom, kitchen or extension. 

6.3  Upon completion of the valuation, we’ll send you an offer notice, setting out: 

• The valuation, your discount and the price you’ll pay
• Any structural problems we know about
• Any terms and conditions of the purchase
• An estimate of the service charge or estate rent charge you’ll have to pay when you’re a homeowner. 

6.4  You have four weeks from the date on the offer notice to confirm acceptance of the offer. 

6.5  If you’re not happy with the valuation, you can apply to the District Valuer and ask them to make their own determination.

7. Your responsibilities once you’ve bought your home 

7.1  Buying your home is a major financial commitment. Apart from paying for it, you will be responsible for all repairs and maintenance. If you buy a flat or a maisonette, you’ll also have to pay service charges. 

Service charges are your share of the cost of managing, providing services and carrying out repairs to the communal parts of your building or estate.

Service charges are paid by all leaseholders living in properties that benefit from communal services. Leaseholders pay a proportion of the cost for delivery of these services which can vary from estate to estate but generally include the following:

• insuring the property for full rebuilding costs (building insurance only)
• communal lighting internal and external
• communal repairs
• cleaning of communal areas
• caretaker services /gardening services
• ground rent
• management fees. (The fee covers all costs that are not directly attributable to an individual property, block or estate)

7.2  If you decide to sell your home within five years, you’ll need to pay back a proportion of the discount you received. You’ll have to pay back all the discount if you sell or let within the first year. After that, the total amount you pay back reduces to: 

• 80% of the discount in the second year
• 60% of the discount in the third year
• 40% of the discount in the fourth year
• 20% of the discount in the fifth year. 

7.3  The amount of discount you must repay will be a percentage of the resale value of the property, disregarding the value of any improvements. It is not based on the purchase price of the property.

7.4  We won’t normally waive the repayment of some or all the discount, except in exceptional circumstances. The Head of Housing must approve all changes to your discount repayment. 

7.5  If you decide to sell your home within ten years of buying it, you must first offer it to us before putting it on the open market. 

8. Review 

8.1  We will review this Policy to address legislative, regulatory, best practice or operational issues, otherwise every 3 years.

Published: 5 May 2024 
Next review date: May 2027