If you’re eligible, you might be able to buy your home at a discounted rate through one of the Government’s Right to Buy schemes.
The Right to Buy scheme means that some council tenants who meet certain criteria have the right to buy their home at a discount.
If you were a secure council tenant when your home was sold to us, you may have what is known as the ‘Preserved Right to Buy’. The maximum discount available is £102,400 for everywhere in England apart from London. In London the maximum discount you could get is £136,400. The discount depends on the number of years you have been living in your current home and whether it is a flat or a house.
You may have the ‘Preserved Right to Buy’ if:
You can find out more information on the Government’s Right to Buy webpage or speak to one of the Government’s official Right to Buy agents on 0300 123 0913.
Apply online or download an application form.
Email your completed application form to HomeOwnership.Services@orbit.org.uk.
Alternatively, you can post the form to:
Orbit Homeownership Services,
PO Box 6406,
Coventry,
CV3 9NB.
Housing association tenants may be able to buy their rented housing association home at a discount through the Right to Acquire scheme. The discount available ranges between £9,000 and £16,000 and will depend on where you live.
To apply to buy your home through the scheme, you must meet the following criteria:
You can find out more about the Government’s Right to Acquire webpage or speak to one of the Government’s official Right to Buy agents on 0300 123 0913.
If meet the above criteria and you’d like to apply for the Right to Acquire (RTA) scheme, you may download and complete an application form along with RTA insolvency declaration.
Email your completed application form and declaration to: HomeOwnership.Services@orbit.org.uk.
Alternatively, you can post the form to:
Orbit Homeownership Services,
PO Box 6406,
Coventry,
CV3 9NB.
If you want to check your eligibility before you apply, contact us.
When we receive your application, the Right to Acquire process will start. Here is a summary of the process and the timescales that both parties need to meet:
We’ll only carry out essential maintenance to your home after you submit your application. Once you become the homeowner, you’ll be fully responsible for all repairs and maintenance, other than communal and external repairs if you live in a flat – and you’ll continue paying a contribution for these maintenance costs.
If you’re accepted for the RTA scheme, we’ll need you to confirm how you'll be funding the purchase, in line with anti-money laundering laws. If you’re using savings to purchase your home, we’ll need to see evidence of where this money came from.
Your purchase may be delayed if you don’t provide information when requested or respond satisfactorily to any questions we ask you.
In some cases, we may also use an identity verification agency to confirm your identity.
We strongly advise you to seek independent financial advice before applying for the RTA scheme. This advice will help you understand what your future costs are likely to be if your application is successful.
Once you buy your home, you're responsible for paying the mortgage as well as maintenance and repair costs.
At least one tenant must want to buy the home. Family members (occupants) are not able to buy it on the tenant’s behalf.
All applicants must have a legal interest in the property, as they’ll be included in the mortgage and legal documents.
Before you decide to buy your home, you may want to have a full structural survey carried out on the property. This is a thorough examination that should highlight any issues that could present a problem in the future. You will need to pay for this survey.
You will also be expected to pay for your own solicitor's fees and any charges your mortgage provider gives you. For example, the arrangement fee.
Any improvement that you want to be taken into consideration must have been previously approved by us.
These improvements must have been paid for by you and we’ll need to see proof of this.
Not all improvements are considered to add value to the home. For example, redecoration or general maintenance.
If you sell your home within the first five years, you’ll need to pay a percentage of the discount you were originally given. Please contact our customer service hub for advice on what that will be.
If you sell within the first ten years, we must get first refusal to buy it back at the current market value.