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

The Right to Buy was significantly restricted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, but it hasn't been abolished. Long-tenure council tenants in England still have the right to buy their home at a discount.

If you're going through that process and your council has been ignoring repairs, there's a strategic question worth thinking about: bring the disrepair claim before completion, or after?

The answer matters more than most tenants realise.

Why timing matters

Once you complete the Right to Buy purchase, the council ceases to be your landlord. Section 11 (which applies to landlords) no longer covers you. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act applies to landlords during the tenancy.

Disrepair that existed during your tenancy doesn't disappear when you buy, but the legal route to recover compensation does change.

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. For an emergency hazard the council must investigate and make the home safe within 24 hours. For a significant hazard it must investigate within 10 working days, complete the safety work within 5 working days of finishing that investigation, and send you a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation.
• Pre-action protocol disrepair claims work as normal.
• Compensation can include damages for the period of disrepair AND a reduction in the purchase price reflecting the property's condition.

After completion:

• You're now an owner, not a tenant. Section 11 no longer applies.
• Claims must be brought as Defective Premises Act claims, or for breach of contract under the original tenancy agreement.
• Time limits start running from the date of breach (which was during your tenancy), so don't assume you have forever.
• You're paying the council for a property they themselves didn't maintain. The case becomes more about purchase price reduction than ongoing rent rebate.

Common scenarios

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

If you've put up with damp for 5 years and now you're applying to buy, bring the disrepair claim first. The council should fix the issues at their cost as landlord. If they don't, you have a claim for the period of disrepair AND a strong argument for a reduced purchase price.

Don't 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 a survey for the purchase reveals defects the council should have known about. You have a claim for:

• The reduction in property value caused by the undisclosed defect
• Cost of remediation if not done by the council before completion
• Distress and inconvenience for the period the defect existed during your tenancy

Bring it up before exchange. Once you exchange, you've agreed the price and condition.

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

You might still have a claim under the Defective Premises Act 1972 if there was a defect 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 flagged the issue.

Time limits are tight (typically 6 years from the date of breach, but Defective Premises Act claims can have earlier triggers). Talk to us as soon as possible.

The spray foam complication

A specific case: spray foam loft insulation (see our spray foam article) can derail Right to Buy applications because mortgage lenders refuse to lend on properties with it.

If your council installed spray foam during your tenancy and it's now blocking your mortgage:

• You have a claim for loss of opportunity (a quantifiable financial loss)
• You may have a claim for the cost of removal as part of any sale
• The council can't lawfully refuse to remove it on the basis "it was their property when installed"

What to gather

If you're planning Right to Buy AND you've had disrepair issues:

• A complete log of every repair you've reported (dates, what was said, what was done or not done)
• Photographs of any current defects
• A copy of the council's most recent inspection report on your property (request under your right of access)
• The Right to Buy valuation, when issued, and an independent valuation if you think it's wrong
• Quotes for remediation works if applicable

What we do

We screen Right to Buy + disrepair cases on the same no-win-no-fee basis as any other housing disrepair claim. The legal complexity is slightly higher, there are timing strategy questions, but the claim mechanics are the same. We'll tell you honestly whether your situation is one we can help with 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.