Most secure tenants of a public sector landlord, for example, a local authority or a non-charitable registered social landlord (including some housing associations), have a legal right to buy the home they live in, with a discount on the price of the property. This right is known as the right to buy.

This is becoming an increasingly popular option as house prices increase on a monthly basis and show no sign of slowing. The discount given means that people can now afford to buy a home. As house prices are now over 7 times the average income, without this discount many would remain rent paying tenants for ever and never become a home owner.

The right to acquire applies to secure and assured tenants of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). The property must have been built or acquired with certain public funds or transferred from a local authority, on or after 1 April 1997. RSLs must give these tenants information about their right to acquire. This is the same as the statutory information about the right to buy that local authorities must give their secure tenants.

Who has the right to buy?

In order to exercise the right to buy, a tenant must:

be a secure tenant of a right to buy landlord, or an assured tenant who has the preserved right to buy as a result of a stock transfer; and rent a house or flat as a separate dwelling which s/he must occupy as her/his only or main home (although there are certain exceptions). A spouse can occupy on behalf of the tenant; and have spent a total of at least two years (or in some cases, five) as a tenant of her/his present landlord, or of another public sector landlord, or in armed forces accommodation. This is known as the qualifying period.

Tenants who may not have the right to buy

Bankruptcy - You cannot exercise the right to buy if s/he is an undischarged bankrupt, or if a bankruptcy hearing is pending.

Rent arrears - If you are in rent arrears, a local authority is not bound to complete a sale until the outstanding arrears are paid.

Possession orders - You cannot exercise the right to buy if the landlord has obtained a possession order from the court, under which you are obliged to leave on a definite date. If the landlord has obtained a postponed possession order, you can proceed with the application to buy as long as you comply with the conditions of the order. If a landlord commences possession proceedings against a tenant who is attempting to exercise the right to buy, the court hearing the possession case may decide not to grant possession, and allow the tenant to proceed with her/his right to buy application.

In one case, a tenant who had succeeded to a tenancy had submitted a right to buy application (which was acknowledged by the local authority). The landlord later commenced possession proceedings on the ground that the property was under-occupied. The High Court decided that the right to buy application should be allowed to proceed, and that no possession order should be made.