Right to Buy and housing disrepair: can you claim if you're buying?

The Right to Buy has been tightened in recent years, but it has not been abolished. Long-standing council tenants in England can still buy their home at a discount.

Going through that process while your council ignores repairs? There is a question worth real thought: bring the disrepair claim before completion, or after?

The answer matters more than most tenants realise.

Why timing matters

Once you complete the purchase, the council stops being your landlord. Section 11, a duty on landlords, no longer covers you. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act likewise applies during the tenancy.

Disrepair from your tenancy does not vanish when you buy. But the legal route to compensation changes.

Before completion:

• Section 11 still applies. The council still owes you a habitable, repaired home.
• Awaab's Law deadlines still apply while you are a tenant. An emergency hazard: investigated and made safe within 24 hours. A significant hazard: investigated within 10 working days, safety work done within 5 working days of the investigation ending, written summary sent within 3 working days of the investigation.
• Pre-action protocol disrepair claims work as normal.
• Compensation can cover the period of disrepair AND a cut in the purchase price to reflect the home's condition.

After completion:

• You are now an owner, not a tenant. Section 11 no longer applies.
• Claims must go through the Defective Premises Act, or breach of contract under the old tenancy agreement.
• Time limits run from the date of the breach, which was during your tenancy. Do not assume you have forever.
• You are paying the council for a home it failed to maintain. The case shifts towards price reduction rather than rent rebate.

Common scenarios

"I've been waiting for repairs for years. Now I want to buy."

Put up with damp for 5 years, and now applying to buy? Bring the disrepair claim first. As your landlord, the council should fix the problems at its own cost. If it does not, you have a claim for the disrepair period AND a strong argument for a lower price.

Do not let the council push you to complete first "to keep things simple". Completing first removes your leverage.

"I'm in the middle of the process and the council just notified me of structural issues."

This happens when the purchase survey reveals defects the council should have known about. You have a claim for:

• The drop in value caused by the undisclosed defect
• The cost of the fix, if the council does not do it before completion
• Distress and inconvenience for the time the defect existed during your tenancy

Raise it before exchange. Once you exchange, you have agreed the price and the condition.

"I bought 3 years ago. Damp's been a problem ever since I moved in."

You may still have a claim under the Defective Premises Act 1972, if a defect existed at the time of sale that the council should have disclosed.

You may also have a claim against your conveyancer, if standard pre-completion enquiries should have caught it.

Time limits are tight: usually 6 years from the breach, and Defective Premises Act claims can start the clock earlier. Talk to us as soon as you can.

The spray foam complication

One specific trap: spray foam loft insulation (see our spray foam article) can derail a Right to Buy application, because mortgage lenders refuse to lend on homes that have it.

If the council installed spray foam during your tenancy and it now blocks your mortgage:

• You have a claim for lost opportunity, a measurable financial loss
• You may have a claim for the removal cost as part of any sale
• The council cannot lawfully refuse removal just because "it was their property when installed"

What to gather

Planning Right to Buy, with disrepair on the record? Gather:

• A full log of every repair you reported: dates, what was said, what was and was not done
• Photographs of any current defects
• The council's latest inspection report on your home (ask for it under your right of access)
• The Right to Buy valuation once issued, plus an independent one if you think it is wrong
• Quotes for the repair works, where relevant

What we do

We screen Right to Buy disrepair cases on the same no-win-no-fee basis as any other claim. The law is a little more tangled, timing matters more, but the mechanics are the same. We will tell you honestly whether we can help, or whether you need a conveyancing solicitor instead.

0800 030 4669 for an honest assessment, or start a claim online.

Sources: Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk); Defective Premises Act 1972 (legislation.gov.uk).

Support For Tenants is a trading name of Cyntex Group Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Claims Management Company. FRN 1020217. Registered in England and Wales.