Right to buy

Download article Print article
Choose from the index:
Service Charge & Leasehold Team

For any questions or queries on Right to Buy, please contact:

Service Charge & Leasehold Team 
ServiceChargeLeasehold@jigsawhomes.org.uk
t: 0300 111 1133

Overview

Tenants of Jigsaw Homes North, who were tenants of Chorley Borough Council at the time of the Large Scale Voluntary Stock Transfer, have the Preserved Right to Buy.

Tenants of Jigsaw Homes Tameside who were tenants of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council at the time of the Large Scale Voluntary Stock Transfer to New Charter Homes on 27th March 2000 have the Preserved Right to Buy.

Tenants of Jigsaw Homes Midlands (formerly known as Gedling Homes), who were tenants of Gedling Borough Council at the time of the Large Scale Voluntary Stock Transfer on 3rd November 2008, have the Preserved Right to Buy.

The Preserved Right to Buy allows these tenants to purchase their current home at a discounted rate.

It should be noted that some properties, mainly sheltered accommodation, transferred under the Large Scale Voluntary Stock Transfer are excluded from the Preserved Right to Buy Scheme.

Maximum discount

The Preserved Right to Buy entitles those eligible Jigsaw Homes North (formerly Chorley Community Housing) tenants to a discount on the purchase price of their home based on the number of years they have spent as a Council or Housing Association tenant.

The purchase price is determined by an open market valuation less the discount which the tenant is entitled to. The maximum discount is capped at £96,010 and the discount is awarded on a sliding scale set out below which varies dependent upon the property type.

Qualifying Period in Years Discount for Houses Discount for Flats
5 years 35% 50%
10 years 40% 60%
15 years 45% 70%
20 years 50% 70%
25 years 55% 70%
30 years 60% 70%
35 years 65% 70%
40 years 70% 70%
Over 40 years 70% 70%

 

Cost floor rules

When calculating the purchase price and the amount of discount Jigsaw Homes North will take into account the money that has been spent on buying, building, repairing and improving the property in the past 15 years.

How to apply

If you enquire about the Right to Buy Scheme Jigsaw Homes will initially check that you meet the qualifying criteria. Provided that is the case, Jigsaw Homes will then invite you to make an application for the Right to Buy.

 

Selling your home after you have purchased it

If you purchase your home under the Preserved Right to Buy Scheme and subsequently re-sell it within 5 years of doing so then you will be required to pay back all or part of the discount that you received.

There are a number of factors, such as property value and the length of time since the property was purchased that may influence the amount that you are asked to repay but the general principles are

Time after purchase when property sold Amount of discount repayable
Within 1 year 100%
Within 2 years 80%
Within 3years 60%
Within 4 years 40%
Within 5 years 20%

Furthermore if you sell within the initial 5 year period and the sale price, disregarding any improvements you have, is higher than the original open market valuation you will also be asked to repay a proportion of the discount which will be reflective of the increased value of your home.

After 5 years of ownership, no discount is repayable under the Right to Buy Scheme.

Further information

For more detail about the Right to Buy please visit the government’s website – https://righttobuy.gov.uk/

 

Download article Print article
Related Articles