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The Right to Acquire is a government scheme that allows some housing association tenants to purchase their rented home at a discounted price.
The discount will depend on the area that you live in and is set by the government.
You and your home need to meet certain criteria to be eligible to apply for a Right to Acquire.
Basic eligibility
You must:
- Live in an eligible home. We can tell you if your home is eligible for the Right to Acquire or not so do get in touch with us
- Have been a public sector/housing association tenant for at least 3 years
- Have an assured tenancy with us
- Not have any outstanding possession orders related to rent arrears
- Not have any suspension orders in place, such as those for anti-social behaviour or any demotion orders
You also can’t apply for the Right to Acquire if you’re being made bankrupt or undischarged Bankrupt, or if a Court has ordered you to give up the tenancy of the home you want to purchase.
Right to Acquire is a scheme for eligible housing association tenants/homes, while Right to Buy is a statutory right for many council tenants. We don’t offer Right to Buy.
Explore the topics below to find out more about the Right to Acquire:
You can buy either buy your home on your own or with:
- Someone who’s on the tenancy agreement (a joint tenant)
- Your spouse or civil partner
- Up to three family members who’ve been living in your home for at least 12 months before you apply (they don’t need to be joint tenants, but it must be their main home)
If you qualify for Right to Acquire, you must carefully consider whether you can afford the costs of being a homeowner. If you don’t keep up repayments on your mortgage, your home could become repossessed, and you risk being made homeless.
On-going costs include:
- Mortgage repayments
- Repairs and maintenance – this includes major repairs such as boiler replacements, roofing repairs and electrical issues
- Insurance – Including building and contents
- Regular bills such as Council Tax, utilities and other bills.
You should take your own independent legal and financial advice before buying your home – you will need to pay for this advice yourself.
If you want to start the Right to Acquire process, get in touch. We’ll then check that you and your home meet the qualifying criteria.
We’ll then invite you to apply for the Right to Acquire. We might ask for some supporting information alongside the Right to Acquire forms.
If you purchase your home under the Right to Acquire and choose to sell it within 5 years, you’ll have to pay back all or part of the discount you received. Other restrictions may apply too.
Other things to consider with the Right to Acquire
Once you submit a Right to Acquire application form and the sale begins to progress, we will no longer include your home in any planned improvements. We also won’t carry out day-to-day repairs, but will continue to deal with any emergency repairs until the sale is complete.
You might also be interested in the Right to Shared Ownership
The Right to Shared Ownership allows some tenants of social or affordable housing to have the opportunity to buy a share of their home (from 10% to 75%) on shared ownership terms.