Frequently asked questions

Step 1 - Applying to buy

Start by asking the Council's Housing Department for the Right to Buy claim form (Form RTB1). The Council must give you one for free if you ask. Fill in the form carefully. It is used to decide: -

whether you have the Right to Buy; and

how much discount you will get.

(Be wary of people other than the Council offering you forms, especially if they ask you to pay them for this.)

When you have filled in the form, return it to the Council's Housing Department. Because the form is an important legal document, it is a good idea to use recorded delivery or to deliver it by hand and get a receipt, otherwise you may be unable to prove that the Council has received the form. You should keep a copy of the completed form for yourself.

Step 2 - The Council's Response Notice

Having received your claim form, the Council must send you a notice (Form RTB2) telling you whether or not you have the Right to Buy. You should get this within 4 weeks from the date on which the Council receives your RTB1 form (or within 8 weeks if you
have been a tenant of the Council for less than 2 years). If the Council says that you don't have the Right to Buy your home, the Council will explain why. The property may be one of the exceptions listed on Pages 5 and 6 of this Information Sheet. If you don't agree with the Council's explanation, you can get advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau or from a solicitor. If you are still not satisfied, you can write to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at the address given on Page 23 of in this Information Sheet.

Step 3 - The Council's Section 125 Notice

If the Council has agreed to sell your home to you, the Council will contact you to arrange for a valuer to carry out a valuation of your home. When the valuation has been carried out the Council's Property Services Department will send a letter to you incorporating the Section 125 Notice. This Notice tells you the price you have to pay and the terms and conditions of the sale. The Council must send this Section 125 Notice to you within a further 8 weeks after you have received your RTB2 form if your home is a house and you are buying a freehold, or within 12 weeks if your home is a flat or maisonette. If you are buying a house on leasehold terms, the time limit is also 12 weeks.

The Section 125 Notice is an important document and you should
read it very carefully.

It will tell you five main things:

It will describe the property that you have the Right to Buy.

It will tell you the price the Council considers you should pay for it. To calculate this, the Council must first work out how much your home was worth at the date on which you submitted your application form, and then take off your discount. If you have made improvements, these are not allowed to put the price up. If your discount is reduced by the cash limit, (?38,000.00 at the present time), or, the cost floor (explained on Page 12 of this Information Sheet), the notice must say so.

It will give estimates of the service charges or improvement costs you will have to pay during the first 5 years after you buy your home, if it is a flat or maisonette.

It will describe any structural defects that the Council knows about.

It will contain the terms and conditions that the Council thinks should be attached to the sale. These may be set out either in the form of a draft of the legal document for you to sign, or as part of the notice, or on a separate sheet.

Step 4 - Appealing to the District Valuer

When you receive your Section 125 notice, you may feel that what the Council thinks is the full market value of your home is too high. If so, you have a right to obtain an independent valuation from the District Valuer. Before doing so, you have to tell the Council, within 3 months of receiving the Section 125 notice, that you want a 'determination of value' under Section 128 of the Housing Act 1985. To tell the Council you can telephone the Council's Property Services Department requesting a Form RTB5. When you receive the Form TRB5 you should complete, sign and return it to the Property Services Department. You have 4 weeks to return the RTB5 Form to the Council and the Council will then put your case to the District Valuer. He may also need to inspect your home.

The District Valuer's valuation will be the one that counts. Even if it is higher than the Council's valuation, you will still have to accept it or withdraw your application to buy your home.

Step 5 - Resolving other questions about the Section 125 notice

If you want to question anything else in the Section 125 notice (the size of your discount, the effect of the cost floor, service charges, conditions of sale, your home's boundaries etc), you should contact the Council's Property Services Department. If you and the Council disagree about something, you have the right to go to the county court for a ruling. But this can be expensive, and you should get legal advice first.

Step 6 - Getting a Survey

Before you finally decide to buy, you should get an independent survey from a qualified surveyor. When you apply for a mortgage, the bank or building society will have a survey done, but this is only to value your home. It may not uncover any structural problems that may exist.

Step 7 - Getting legal advice

Before deciding whether to buy, you should get legal advice, particularly if you have worries about the terms of the sale. If you don't know a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer, you might ask the Council, or your bank or building society to suggest one. Your local reference library should also have a list of the solicitors in your area, and details about the type of work they do. You should always ask how much it will cost before you employ a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

Step 8 - Telling the Council what you want to do next

You will see that you have two choices at this stage. The information contained in your Section 125 notice may not be straightforward and easy to understand. You will now have to decide if you want to:

buy your home outright for the full Right to Buy price, less any discount for which you are eligible.

forget about buying, withdraw your application, and carry on paying rent.

When you have decided, you must tell the Council in writing. To help you tell the Council in writing, the Council will have sent to you with the Section 125 Offer Notice letter, a yellow FORM V11 so that you can answer the questions on the Form V11 and then sign and date the FORM V11 and send it back to the Council's Property Services Department

You must return the Form V11 or a letter advising the Council of your decision within 12 weeks of receiving your Section 125 notice. If you have asked to have your house valued by the District Valuer, you must tell the Council what you want to do within 12 weeks of getting that valuation. If you do not let the Council know what you intend to do in time, the Council will send you a reminder (this reminder will be a letter and a Notice of Default). If you do not reply within 28 days, the Council will think you don't want to buy, and your application will not be dealt with any further.

If for any reason you are not able to decide within the time limit what you want to do, you can ask the Council to wait a bit longer for your reply. If you are unable to decide for a good reason (for example, if you were in hospital and you could not return the form in time), you should tell the Council by contacting the Council's Property Services Department and your time limit may then be extended automatically. You don't have to buy your home just because you have told the Council you want to. You can still change your mind. But if you do not tell the Council what you want to do, the Council will think you don't want to buy, and you will have to start again. If the value of your home has gone up in the meantime, then you will have to pay the higher price.

Step 9 - Enquiring about a mortgage

If you need a mortgage, this is when you should talk to a bank or building society.

Step 10 - Completing your purchase

If you are happy with the Council's terms for selling your home to you, and you have arranged to raise the money, you are ready to go ahead and buy. You should tell the Council that you are ready, and ask your solicitor for advice on the legal documents and making your payment. It may take a couple of months before you become the owner of your home. You can take the time you reasonably need to get a mortgage or legal advice. You can also take your time to discuss the terms of the sale with the Council. You should aim to let the Council know as soon as you are ready to go ahead and buy. If the Council doesn't hear from you for a long time, you may get a warning notice. This will ask you either to complete the purchase within 8 weeks or to write and tell the Council that you disagree with the terms of the sale. If you don't, the Council may send you a second notice asking you to complete your purchase. If you then don't complete, your application will not be taken any further. The Council cannot send you a warning notice until at least 3 months after the date of the Section 125 Notice letter (or, if you applied for the Right to Buy before 18 January 2005, the Council cannot send you a warning notice until at least 12 months after the date of the Section 125 Notice letter) after your Section 125 notice.

It will help things to go smoothly if, throughout the process, you or your solicitor keep the Council informed on your circumstances, such as how you are progressing with raising the money or on any other issues that may delay the purchase.

Delays or problems with the sale

Most sales go through quickly, but sometimes there are problems or delays. If the Council does not send you Form RTB 2 (the notice telling you if you have the Right to Buy) or the Section 125 notice (offer notice) within the times mentioned in the step by step guide on page 7 above, or is otherwise delaying the sale, you may be allowed a reduction in the purchase price. To get this reduction, you first need to fill in an initial notice of delay (Form RTB 6) and send it to the Council. You must give the Council at least one month to take the next step in the sale process. The Council may send you a counter notice if he has already served you with a Response Notice or a Section 125 Notice, or if there is no action that can be taken by the Council to speed up the sale. If the Council does not send you a counter notice within the time allowed, you can send the Council an operative notice of delay (Form RTB 8). The rent you pay while the delay goes on will then be taken off the price you have to pay for your home. If the Council delays the sale again, you can repeat this procedure. You can get the forms mentioned above from the Council's Property Services Department, or from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

If there are any other problems with the sale and you cannot settle them with the Council, you can get advice about your rights at a Citizens Advice Bureau or from a solicitor.