If you have been a tenant with a public sector landlord, for example with a council or housing association, for at least 3 years you can apply for the Right to Buy.
You can apply for the Right to Buy on your own, or make a joint application with someone who shares your tenancy. A spouse, civil partner, partner or close family members can be included on your application if they meet the eligibility criteria.
The current maximum cash discount in the South West is £30,000. The discount you are entitled to depends on the duration of your tenancy with public sector landlord(s).
Further details about the Right to Buy scheme can be found on the GOV.UK website. Right to Buy: buying your council home.
To contact a Right to Buy Officer, please email righttobuy@stroud.gov.uk or call 01453 766 321
You must be a tenant of Stroud District Council to apply for the Right to Buy with us.
It is important to note that once you submit a Right to Buy application you will only be entitled to emergency repairs. The council will not carry out any other repairs to your home whilst you are in the process of buying. The council will also remove you from any upcoming planned maintenance programmes. For more information please see the FAQs.
Yes, these mainly relate to legal issues with debt or any outstanding court orders. Eligibility is confirmed as part of the Right to Buy application process.
Certain properties are excluded and are not eligible for purchase under the Right to Buy. This includes Independent Living properties and properties particularly suitable for the elderly or disabled.
You are free to withdraw your application at any time if you don’t wish to proceed. Your tenancy will be not be affected.
Yes. Both tenants must be involved in the purchase unless one of the joint tenants is willing to give consent for the other tenant to purchase in their own name only.
It is important that the tenant who agrees not to buy obtains legal advice as should the sale go through, they will have no legal rights over the property and their tenancy will end upon completion of the purchase.
Yes, you can add up to 3 family members, over the age of 18, onto a Right to Buy Application.
Each family member will be assessed to ensure they meet the criteria and can provide evidence as outlined below.
| Family Member | Evidence Required |
| Spouse/ Civil Partner | Marriage or Civil Partnership certificate |
| Close Family Member or Partner (who must have lived in the property as their only home for the last 12 months). | Two separate forms of evidence to confirm they have lived in the property for the last 12 months. These must span the entire 12-month period and contain the address |
If you are unsure whether someone qualifies as a family member, you should check with the Right to Buy Officers before applying.
No, only tenants have the Right to Buy.
Spouses/Civil Partners and close family members or partners who have lived in the property for the last 12 months can apply to join the application as detailed above.
Tenancies with private landlords should not be included on your Right to Buy application.
Tenancies with public sector landlords (PDF) (for example other local authorities, housing associations etc.) should be included.
You will need to provide details of these tenancies within your Right to Buy application and give your consent for the council to verify them with your previous landlord(s).
Any period spent in armed forces accommodation can count towards the three year qualifying period for Right to Buy and the qualifying period for the discount. A tenant can also count this time if their spouse or civil partner was a member of the armed forces, and they lived with them in this accommodation. You will need to provide evidence of residency for any accommodation you are claiming for.
We cannot tell you how much your property is worth or how much discount you will get before an application is made.
This is because it involves a calculation of your discount entitlement (based on how many years you have been a public sector tenant) and an independent valuation of the property.
The maximum discount you can get is the lower of:
Detail on how the discount is calculated, can be found here.
If you sell your home within five years of ownership you may need to repay some of the discount. Certain sales or transfers are exempt from the requirement to repay the discount, for example transfers between certain family members.
Yes, but you may get a lower discount if you have previously purchased a property through the Right to Buy (or another government scheme).
The amount of your previous discount will be taken into account when determining the discount value for any future Right to Buy applications.
The council does not charge any fees for processing your application but you will be responsible for any fees relating to your solicitor, your mortgage and any other associated fees (for example independent surveys).
We would strongly advise you to take your own legal advice and instruct a solicitor to represent you.
The council’s Right to Buy Officers and Solicitors cannot provide any legal advice.
The valuation that is carried out during the Right to Buy process is not a full survey of the property.
Therefore, you may decide to have an independent survey carried out on your property at your own expense. This will highlight any issues with the property before you buy.
Once you submit a Right to Buy application you will only be entitled to emergency repairs. For example:
If you withdraw your Right to Buy application, you will be entitled to repairs as normal.
If you buy your property, you will be responsible for all repairs as the new homeowner (for flats see more detail below).
For works to houses & internal areas of flats
The Council will remove you from any upcoming planned maintenance programmes, for example, new roofing, external doors and windows, rainwater goods, kitchens, bathrooms etc and will stop any commenced planned maintenance works to the property.
If you have a Right to Buy application in progress, and planned works are due to take place in your area, your property will not be included (this is the case for works which are about to commence and those which have not yet been procured).
Please bear in mind that even if you withdraw your Right to Buy application at a later date, it may be too late to include your property on the programme.
For works to communal areas or external areas of flats
If your property is a flat and is included in the planned programme for external works or works affecting any communal areas, such as roofing, rainwater goods etc, these will continue.
Should your application proceed to completion, you may pay for your proportion of the cost of this work as the leaseholder, as part of your service charge. This would be set out in your offer notice as part of the Right to Buy process.
Yes, you can withdraw at any time; you must put your withdrawal in writing, and it must be signed by all the people who were going to buy.
You can apply again in the future, but this would be a new application, and the process would re-start.
If you receive your S125 Offer Notice and think the valuation is too high, you have the right to appeal to the District Valuer.
If you wish to appeal, you must inform the Right to Buy Officers within 12 weeks of the date of your S125 Offer Notice. Your request will then be referred to a district valuer, from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who will visit your property and undertake their own valuation.
This district valuer’s valuation is final and replaces any previous valuation figure in your S125 notice. This is important to note as their valuation could be higher, lower or remain the same as the original valuation.
A revised offer notice (or letter where the figure remains the same) will then be issued using the final valuation figure and you will have 12 weeks to accept or withdraw from the Right to Buy.
If you want to borrow more than the purchase price of your property, it must be for an approved purpose. This includes home improvements to the property but will not include any white goods, general decoration, furnishings etc.
This is because all legal charges have a priority order in which this must be repaid. The first priority will usually be your mortgage, followed by the discount you receive on your purchase from the council.
If you apply to borrow additional funds at the same time as your purchase or within the first 5 years of the purchase date, you must apply for a Deed of Postponement to change the order of priority in which legal charges must be repaid.
If applying for a Deed of Postponement, evidence will be requested to confirm the additional borrowing is for an approved purpose.