Right to Buy
To buy your council home you must be a secure tenant and have been a public sector tenant for at least 3 years. If you have had breaks as a tenant you can include previous tenancies in your total.
When we get your application we will visit your home and make a valuation at the current market rate. As a tenant, you are currently (from 6 April 2024) able to get a maximum discount of £102,400 to help buy the home you are currently renting from us. The discount will depend on the type of property and the time that you have been a tenant. It is also subject to changes.
- If you sell your home within 5 years, you will need to pay at least some of the discount back.
- If you sell your home within 10 years you will need to offer it back to us for purchase.
You may not be able to buy your home if:
- Your property is specifically suitable for elderly or disabled tenants.
- You are in breach of any part of your tenancy.
- You have outstanding possession orders.
- You have problems with debt.
The Leasehold Advisory Service is government-funded and provides independent advice for leaseholders.
Thanet District Council will no longer be responsible for the maintenance of your home. You will need to do your own repairs, or pay someone else to do them.
If you have a mortgage, you must keep up repayments or your home could be repossessed by your mortgage provider.
For a leasehold property (flat or maisonette), you will need to pay a service charge to Thanet District Council to pay for repairs to the communal areas and maintenance to the building etc. Buildings insurance is covered by your service charge but you will need to buy your own contents insurance.
If your property is freehold (a house) you will need to buy both buildings and contents insurance.
Don’t forget the one-off costs when buying a home including stamp duty, survey and solicitor’s fees.
You must be sure that you understand the costs and responsibilities associated with home ownership e.g. mortgage payments, service charges, maintenance of the property.
If you buy a leasehold property, you could also be liable for large one-off payments for building repairs. More information about leasehold properties can be found here.
PermalinkThanet District Council will carry out any repairs that we have responsibility for in your home, until you have bought it. While your application is in progress we will not be able to do any large repairs that would normally be part of a repairs programme. This is because it will affect the value of your home.
Once you have bought your home Thanet District Council will no longer be responsible for any repairs.
PermalinkAs your landlord we will provide you with factual information about the Right to Buy scheme. If you would like any information from us, please contact our Homeownership Officer by email myhome@thanet.gov.uk or call 01843 577262.
Before you decide, we recommend that you get legal advice and visit the government’s Right to Buy website. If you decide home ownership is right for you, their advisers can help you with the process and the next steps.
PermalinkAs your landlord we must say yes or no within 4 weeks of getting your application (8 weeks if we’ve been your landlord for less than 3 years). If we say no, we must tell you why.
If we agree to sell, we’ll send you an offer. We must do this within 8 weeks of saying yes if you’re buying a freehold property, or 12 weeks if you’re buying a leasehold property.
Applying for a reduction because of a delay:
Fill in the ‘Initial notice of delay’ form (RTB6) and send it to us.
We must then either move the sale along within 1 month or send you a ‘counter notice’. The counter notice will say that we’ve already replied or explain why we cannot speed things up.
If we do not reply within a month of getting the RTB6, fill in the ‘Operative notice of delay’ form (RTB8). This means that any rent you pay while you’re waiting to hear from us could be taken off the sale price.
You can do this each time we are late getting back to you.
Permalink