Buy your council home
You can buy your council home under the right to buy scheme.
Right to Buy is a government scheme that allows most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount.
Who can apply
You can apply to buy your council home if:
- you’re a secure tenant
- you have spent at least three years as a public sector tenant with Redbridge, another local authority or housing association
- it’s your main home
- have not breached any suspended possession order
- your home must not be due for demolition (a notice would have been served to you)
Who cannot apply
You cannot buy your home if:
- a court has made a possession order that says you must leave your home
- you are subject to bankruptcy proceedings or if your bankruptcy is still in progress
- you live in sheltered housing
- you hold a service tenancy
- we plan to demolish the building
Making a joint application
You can make a joint application with:
- someone who shares your tenancy
- up to three family members who have lived with you for the past 12 months (even if they do not share your tenancy)
Family members can only buy your council home if you want to buy it with them.
Consider the costs
The main cost of buying your home will be the ongoing mortgage payments. But you must consider the other costs too:
- Stamp Duty which is a tax paid on property sales over a certain price
- Land Registry Fees for registering your interest in the leasehold or freehold title
- building survey fees
- valuation fees and mortgage application fees
- solicitor fees
- building insurance, contents insurance and life insurance
- housing repairs
- Council Tax and utilities
Right to buy agents’ service
The government’s right to buy agent service provides free advice for council tenants who want to buy their council home.
Other help
Read the Right to Buy summary booklet and the Right to Buy guidance.
You can also get advice from:
- Money Helper
- Citizens Advice
- Shelter
- your local Law Centre
Working out the discounts
The discount you’ll get is based on:
- how long you have been a tenant with a public sector landlord
- the type of property you’re buying such as a flat or house
- the value of your home
- where you live
There are different discount levels for houses, flats and maisonettes.
Houses
- You get a 35% discount if you have been a public sector tenant for between three and five years
- After five years, the discount goes up 1% for every extra year you have been a public sector tenant. This is up to the maximum discount amount
Flats or maisonette
- You get a 50% discount if you have been a public sector tenant for between three and five years
- After five years, the discount goes up 2% for every extra year you have been a public sector tenant. This is up to the maximum discount amount
Maximum discount
The maximum discount you can get is whichever is lower:
- 70% of the value of your property
- the maximum discount for your region
How to apply
You need to complete all the forms:
- Notice claiming the Right to Buy' application form. This is also known as an RTB1 form
- Right to Buy declaration (PDF 234KB)
- Right to Buy questionnaire (PDF 122KB)
Send the completed forms to the Home Ownership Team:
The Orchard Housing Office
152 Broadmead Road
Woodford Green
IG8 0AG
Make sure you fill in the form correctly or your application may be delayed.
What happens next
We’ll review your application and make a decision. We'll tell you our decision within four weeks as long as we have received all the correct information.
If your application has been accepted
We’ll arrange for a valuer to inspect your property and calculate its market value.
We'll then:
- calculate the discount you're entitled to
- determine the purchase price
- send you a formal offer
If we do not accept your application
We'll give you the reason why we did not accept your application.
Selling your right to buy home
If you sell your home within the first five years after buying, you’ll have to pay back some of the discount you received.
The amount you pay back depends on the value of your home when you sell it. If you have improved your home since buying it, we’ll take this into account.
If you sell your home within the first 10 years of your lease, we have the right to buy back your home. This is known as right of first refusal.
Right of first refusal
If we do not wish to purchase the property back from you, you are then free to sell the property in the open market.
