Right to Buy qualifying period rises to 10 years under Social Housing Bill

Tenants in England will need 10 years instead of 3 to qualify for Right to Buy once the Social Housing Bill gains Royal Assent, the government said on 3 November.

The government said the Bill is approaching its final stages in Parliament, and the new terms apply only after it gains Royal Assent.

Discounts will start at 5% of the property’s value at 10 years and rise by 1% for each extra year of tenancy.

A secure tenant with 12 years’ tenancy would receive a discount of 7% of the value, or the maximum cash discount in their area if that is lower.

Discounts will be capped at 15% of the property’s value or the cash cap, whichever is lower, for both houses and flats.

The cash cap was cut in November 2024 and now ranges from £16,000 to £38,000, depending on where the home is in England.

The government said a tenant with 8 years of qualifying tenancy when the rules start would need a further 2 years before becoming eligible.

Anyone wanting an application considered under the existing rules must give their landlord a Right to Buy claim notice before the Bill gains Royal Assent, it said.

Newly built homes are excluded for 35 years

Newly built social homes will not be available to buy until 35 years after they were built, so a home completed in 2027 becomes eligible in 2062.

Homes in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty or designated rural areas will be excluded, because the government said they are particularly hard to replace.

Homes that councils rent at market rent will also be exempt, which the government said lets councils put more of that income into new social homes.

Tenants who have already used the scheme, or who own another residential property, will generally be barred, with exceptions for those who left a home because of domestic abuse.

Resale repayment period rises from 5 to 10 years

The period in which part of the discount may have to be repaid on resale will rise from 5 years to 10 years.

A sale within a year of buying would mean repaying the full discount, falling by 10% for each additional year, with nothing repayable after 10 years.

The former landlord’s right of first refusal, now limited to 10 years, will become indefinite, so the landlord can be offered the home each time it is resold.

Councils will get longer to process applications: the RTB2 notice confirming the right to buy will move from 4 to 8 weeks.

The government also plans to let councils pause application timescales for up to 6 months during fraud investigations.

Right to Acquire discounts for housing association tenants will stay at between £9,000 and £16,000, depending on where the home is located.

Government expects 1,650 sales in 2026/27

The House of Commons Library said there were more than 9,200 Right to Buy sales in 2024/25, 7% more than in 2023/24.

Councils received around £798 million from those sales, which was 16% higher than a year earlier but 31% below the 2022/23 peak.

The government expects the reforms to cut sales sharply, estimating 1,650 in 2026/27 and 1,250 by 2035/36.

The government confirmed on 28 April that it would bring forward the 10-year and 35-year measures and the new discount rules.

Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, called the measures “a positive step” towards addressing the imbalance between homes sold and replaced.

Details of the changes for tenants take effect only once the Bill gains Royal Assent.