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Who can advise you on Right to Buy?

Your landlord looks after your Right to Buy application. They can send all the forms you need to complete your application.

You’ll normally have to contact your landlord about any issues or delays with the sale.

Before you buy your home, it may also help to talk to:

• neighbours who’ve bought through the scheme, eg about any problems they’ve had
• your local tenants association about general issues with your building or area
• organisations that offer free independent advice – such as the Citizens Advice Bureau

• Applying to buy your home through Right to Buy

• Find your local Citizens Advice Bureau

If your landlord refuses to sell you your home

Legally, there are some homes that your landlord doesn't have to sell under the Right to Buy scheme. For example, your landlord could turn down your application if you lived in a ground floor flat that would suit an elderly person.

You can find out about these exceptions in the link below.

If your landlord says no, they must say why you can’t buy your home through Right to Buy.

• Exceptions to Right to Buy

Appealing against your landlord's decision

You can only appeal against your landlord’s decision if you are turned down because your home is suitable for the elderly. You should appeal to the Residential Property Tribunal Service.

• Appealing if refused the 'Right to Buy' your home

If you think the ‘market value’ of your Right to Buy home is set too high

If your landlord agrees to sell your rented home to you, they will send you a ‘Section 125 notice’.

The Section 125 notice lists everything you need to know about the sale, including the full market value of your home. This is the price your home would normally sell for. It is not the price you pay – buying through Right to Buy means you get a discount.

If you think your landlord has set your home’s market value too high, you must write to them within three months of getting the Section 125 notice. Say you want a ‘determination of value’ under Section 128 of the Housing Act 1985.

A district valuer from HM Revenue & Customs will then visit your home and decide how much it is worth. You have 12 weeks to accept their valuation or pull out of the sale.

Other problems with your landlord’s Right to Buy offer

You should contact your landlord about anything else you don't agree with on your Section 125 notice, eg the discount you’ve been given. If you don’t accept their terms, you can pull out of the sale.

• Discounts available through Right to Buy

• Appealing if refused the 'Right to Buy' your home

Delays with your Right to Buy application

Your landlord must complete parts of your Right to Buy application within set times.

They must send you a notice (form RTB2) that tells you if you can buy through Right to Buy within:

• four weeks of getting your application
• eight weeks of getting your application if your Right to Buy qualifying period includes time spent as a tenant of another landlord

If your landlord agrees to sell you your home, they must send a Section 125 notice that has details of your offer within:

• eight weeks of sending form RTB2 if you’re buying a freehold house
• 12 weeks of sending form RTB2 if you're a buying a leasehold home (eg a flat)

If your landlord doesn't send these notices in time, you could get a reduction in the price you pay for your home by using the delay procedure.

Delay procedure

You first need to fill in an ‘initial notice of delay’ (form RTB6) and send it to your landlord. You must give your landlord at least one month to take the next step in the application process.

Once your landlord receives the initial notice of delay, they must either:

• act to move the sale along within one month
• send a 'counter notice' to say they've already replied (eg with your Section 125 notice) or explain why they can’t speed things up

If they don't do this within a month, you should send them an 'operative notice of delay' (form RTB8). This means that any rent you pay while you’re waiting to hear from your landlord could be taken off the price of your home.

You can do this each time your landlord is late getting back to you.

• Download Initial notice of delay (form RTB6) (PDF, 15K)

• Download Operative notice of delay (form RTB8) (PDF, 13K)

• Help with PDF files

If you delay your Right to Buy application

You have to meet deadlines to buy your home through Right to Buy. For instance, you have three months after getting your Section 125 notice to tell your landlord that you still want to buy your home. If you are late meeting these deadlines, your landlord could drop your application.

Follow the link below for more details on the different stages of applying for Right to Buy.

• Applying to buy your home through Right to Buy

Useful contacts

• Home and community contacts