Introduction

The government is reforming the Right to Buy to better protect much-needed social homes, while maintaining a route to home ownership for long-standing tenants.

This page explains:

  • the forthcoming changes to the Right to Buy scheme that are being implemented through the Social Housing Bill
  • when these changes are likely to come into force
  • what the changes could mean for you

If you are considering applying for the Right to Buy, speak to us and check the latest guidance on GOV.UK.

To have your Right to Buy application considered under the existing rules, you will need to make an application to your landlord using the Notice claiming the Right to Buy (RTB1 form) before the Social Housing Bill gains Royal Assent. The date upon which the Social Housing Bill will gain Royal Assent is currently unknown but the Bill is approaching its final stages of parliamentary passage.

Previous changes

Right to Buy discounts were reduced in November 2024

In November 2024, following a review of the increased discounts introduced in 2012, the maximum cash discounts available through the Right to Buy were reduced.

The maximum discount now ranges from £16,000 to £38,000, depending on where you live in England.

Councils can also retain 100% of receipts from sales to support the delivery of replacement homes.

Upcoming changes

Following a public consultation in 2024 to 2025, the government is making further reforms to the Right to Buy through the Social Housing Bill, which is being debated in Parliament. These measures are not yet in force. They will come in after the Bill finishes all Parliamentary stages and gains Royal Assent. As of November 2026, the Bill is approaching its final stages of parliamentary passage.

Currently, tenants become eligible for the Right to Buy after 3 years as a secure tenant. These 3 years do not need to be consecutive or with the same landlord. The minimum qualifying period will increase to 10 years once the Social Housing Bill gains Royal Assent.

This change is intended to ensure that it is long-standing tenants who have lived in, and paid rent on, their social homes for many years that are able to buy through the scheme.

Example: You have 8 years of qualifying tenancy when the new rules come into force. You would need a further 2 years of qualifying tenancy before becoming eligible to buy your home under the Right to Buy scheme.

The government plans to change how discounts are calculated.

For both houses and flats, discounts will:

  • start at 5% of the property’s value (on reaching the minimum eligibility period of 10 years)
  • increase by 1% for each additional year of tenancy
  • be capped at 15% of the property’s value or the cash discount cap (the maximum cash discount allowed by law), whichever is lower

This will mean that those who have been tenants for longest will get the largest discounts. This new discount regime will come into force once the Social Housing Bill gains Royal Assent.

Example: You have been a secure tenant for 12 years and want to buy your home under the Right to Buy. If eligible, you would receive a discount equivalent to 7% of the property value, or the maximum cash discount in your area, whichever is lower.

Once the Social Housing Bill gains Royal Assent, newly built social homes will not be available to purchase under the Right to Buy until 35 years after the homes were built.

This will give councils greater confidence to build new homes by ensuring they are not sold before the costs of building them have been recovered.

Example: If a new social home is completed in 2027, it would not become eligible for purchase under the Right to Buy until 2062.

Once the Social Housing Bill gains Royal Assent, you will not be able to buy your home if it is in a National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or an area designated as rural, because these homes are particularly hard to replace. You should check your council’s website or contact your landlord to find out whether your home is in a designated area.

Homes rented by councils at market rent (rent charged at local private rental market levels) will be exempt from purchase under the Right to Buy. This will allow councils to use more income from those homes for the building of new social homes.

If you have previously exercised the Right to Buy, you will not be able to use the scheme again unless you have had to leave the home you purchased because of domestic abuse or because of a breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership.

If you own a residential property (in the UK or elsewhere), you will not be able to buy under the Right to Buy scheme unless you have had to leave a home because of domestic abuse.

To support councils with the processing of Right to Buy applications, the timescales for processing applications will be increased:

  • the period for issuing notices confirming the Right to Buy (RTB2) will increase from 4 to 8 weeks (and from 8 to 12 weeks where the applicant has had a tenancy with another public sector landlord)
  • for notices which set out the landlord’s Right to Buy offer (Section 125 notice), the timescale will increase from 8 to 12 weeks for houses and from 12 to 16 weeks for flats and leasehold houses

The government plans to introduce additional safeguards against fraud, including permitting councils to pause application timescales during fraud investigations, for up to 6 months.

The period during which you may need to pay back a percentage of the original discount if you resell the property will increase from 5 years to 10 years. The amount that may need to be repaid will be higher if you seek to sell your property soon after purchase. This is to discourage profiteering.

Under the new rules, if you sold your property up to 1 year after purchasing under the Right to Buy, you would need to repay the full discount to your former landlord. If you sold it between 1 and 2 years after purchase, you would need to repay 90% of the discount. The amount of discount repayable decreases by 10% for every additional year and after 10 years no money would be repaid to your former landlord if you sold your home.

Currently, for the first 10 years after the sale of the property, when the property is resold, you must first give your previous social landlord the opportunity to buy the home back.

This period of first refusal will be made indefinite for sales after the reforms come in, so that the former landlord will be given the opportunity to buy back the home every time it is resold.

Example: If you wanted to sell your home 15 years after buying it, you would need to give your former landlord the opportunity to buy it first. The landlord does not have to buy the property. If they choose not to do so, you can then sell it on the open market

The Right to Acquire scheme for housing association tenants will be changed in line with the changes to the Right to Buy. Right to Acquire discounts will remain the same, at between £9,000 to £16,000, depending on where the home is located.