The ‘right to buy’  is a scheme that allows some tenants to purchase the property that they rent from the council. 

We also manage Right to Buy applications for tenants interested in buying their current home, and a Cash Incentive Scheme for tenants wanting to buy a home in the private sector.

Who is eligible?

 
Secure tenancies starting on or before 17 January 2005
If you have held a public sector tenancy for two years, you may be able to purchase the property that you live in through the right to buy. 

Secure tenancies starting on or after 18 January 2005
If you have held a public sector tenancy for five years, you may be able to purchase the property that you live in through the right to buy. 

Who cannot buy?

 

A full list of exceptions is in the booklet in the pack which can be obtained from Home Ownership Services.

What will I pay for my home?

You could receive a discount of up ro a maximum of £16,000 depending on the amount of time that you have been a secure tenant. Your home will be valued at the open market price.

What else may I have to pay for?

Solicitors’ or legal fees, survey, stamp duty, land registry fees, valuation fees and mortgage costs. You do not have to pay any of the council’s costs.

What may I have to pay for after I buy my home?

Mortgage, building insurance, life assurance, mortgage payment protection insurance, council tax, water, sewerage, gas, electricity, or other utility services, maintenance to keep the property in good repair.

Please also remember that you risk repossession of the property if regular mortgage payments are not made.

Service charges

Annual service charges

If you become a leaseholder of a flat, you will be required to pay service charges for any services or maintenance to your building or estate, including cleaning, repairs, lifts, caretaking, and grounds maintenance. The services and estimated costs will be outlined in your offer notice.

You may also have to pay for such services if you buy a house on an estate or where there are any shared facilities such as paths or drains.

Major Works service charges

You will also be required to pay towards large-scale repairs such as external redecoration, window replacements or roof renewal. If you buy your flat you will be told what is likely to happen in the next five years, and given an estimate of the cost. The cost will be at current prices, although inflation will be added when you get the bill.

How do I apply?

Barnet Homes’ Home Ownership Services can send you an information pack. It provides general advice on the steps involved in applying for the right to buy, the costs involved in buying and the responsibilities that come with owning your own home.

The booklet is intended as a guide and is not a substitute for professional advice. We recommend that if you decide to exercise your Right to Buy, you seek independent legal and financial advice about your individual circumstances.

The application form is known as a RTB1 form. Return the form and post or hand it to Home Ownership Services. You should keep a copy of the form, and either use recorded delivery or deliver it by hand and request a receipt.

Within four weeks we will write to you telling you whether or not you have the right to buy. This is known as a RTB2 notice. If any of your qualifying tenancies are with another landlord, the period is eight weeks. You should then receive your formal offer notice within a further 12 weeks if you live in a flat or eight weeks if you live in a house.

What if the sale is delayed?

If you believe Barnet Homes is delaying the sale, you may send us an ‘initial notice of delay’ (Form RTB6). Barnet Homes must respond to this within one month with a ‘counter notice’ (Form RTB7). If we fail to do this, or the delay continues, you may serve an ‘operative notice of delay’ (Form RTB8). These forms are available from Home Ownership Services. Any rent paid after the service of a valid RTB8, and before the completion of the sale, may then be deducted from the purchase price.

If you are not proceeding with the purchase, we may serve you with a notice giving you eight weeks to complete. This is followed by a second notice which gives you a further eight weeks. After this the application is considered to have been withdrawn and the Right to Buy is cancelled. The first notice can be served after three months of you receiving the offer, if you applied after 17 January 2005, or after 12 months if you applied before.

Right to Buy Abuse

Barnet Homes is aware of abuses to the Right to Buy process, such as bogus advice being provided by so-called experts who claim that, for a fee, they will guarantee the tenant will successfully be admitted to the process.

In addition, Barnet Homes is particularly concerned about companies which approach tenants offering money in return for the tenant selling their home to the company following completion of the sale.

Barnet Homes is aware that such activities occur within Barnet. Such abuses are taken seriously. If you have any information on possible abuses, you can contact Home Ownership Services (in confidence) by telephone or in writing.

Further information

For further information on the above, or any other issues you may have concerning the Right to Buy scheme, please contact Home Ownership Services on 020 8359 4813 or 020 8359 4147 or freephone 0800 389 5225, write to us at Barnet House, 1255 High Road, Whetstone, London N20 0EJ, or e-mail homeownership@barnethomes.org .

For a Right to Buy application form, and other information about the Right to Buy; you can also click on the link below to the Directgov website.