Right to Acquire: housing association tenants

The Right to Acquire is a scheme that allows eligible housing association tenants to buy their rented home at a discount. It is similar to the Right to Buy scheme for council tenants but applies to housing associations and has lower discounts. Here is how it works and how it connects to disrepair.

What is the Right to Acquire?

The Right to Acquire gives eligible tenants of registered social landlords (housing associations) the legal right to purchase their home at a discounted price. It was introduced in 1996 under the Housing Act 1996 and has been modified since.

Who is eligible?

To qualify for the Right to Acquire you must:

• Be a tenant of a registered social landlord (most housing associations qualify)
• Have held a public sector tenancy for at least three years (the "qualifying period")
• Live in the property as your only or principal home
• Not have a demolition notice in force on the property
• Not have certain court orders against you (for example, for nuisance or anti-social behaviour)
• The property must have been built or purchased with public funds after 1 April 1997 (this excludes some older housing association stock)

How much discount do you get?

The discount is fixed at between £9,000 and £16,000 depending on where the property is located. This is significantly lower than the Right to Buy discounts for council tenants, which can be much larger.

The discount is repayable in full (or in part on a sliding scale) if you sell the property within five years of purchase.

Properties that do not qualify

Some housing association properties are excluded from the Right to Acquire, including:

• Properties in certain rural areas (parish councils with fewer than 3,000 residents can apply for exemption)
• Properties built or acquired before 1 April 1997 using private finance
• Properties in sheltered or supported housing schemes

Right to Acquire and disrepair

If your housing association home has disrepair, damp, mould, broken heating, or other structural problems, this does not prevent you from exercising your Right to Acquire. However, there are some practical points to consider:

• The property's condition affects the valuation: a surveyor instructed before purchase will assess the condition of the property. Significant disrepair may reduce the valuation, which in turn reduces what you pay
• You can bring a disrepair claim and exercise your Right to Acquire: these are entirely separate processes. Pursuing a disrepair claim does not stop you from also pursuing your Right to Acquire, and vice versa

See also our article specifically about whether you can claim disrepair while applying for right to buy.

The Right to Acquire process

1. Apply to your housing association using form RTB1 (or the equivalent Right to Acquire application form)
2. The housing association must respond within 4 weeks confirming eligibility (or 8 weeks if you have been a tenant of more than one landlord)
3. If eligible, the housing association issues a Section 125 notice setting out the proposed sale price and the discount
4. You have 12 weeks to accept or reject the offer
5. If you accept, the conveyancing process begins, you will need a solicitor

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If your housing association home has disrepair that they will not fix, call us on 0800 030 4669. Exercising your Right to Acquire does not affect your right to claim for disrepair that occurred during your tenancy.

No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Housing Act 1996 (right to acquire) (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• What is the difference between council and housing association?