The Right to Buy Discount
The Right to Buy scheme gives tenants a discount on the market value of their homes.
The amount of discount depends on the length of time you have been a tenant (with your present and previous Right to Buy landlords). The maximum discount for properties in the North East is £22,000. This limit is fixed by law.
You may also be able to claim discount when your husband or wife was a public sector tenant or lived in housing provided by the armed forces or if you lived with your parents after the age of 16 and later became the tenant of the same property.
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Discount is calculated differently for houses and flats.
Houses – the minimum discount is 32% if your tenancy is at least 2 years and increases by 1% for each additional year to a maximum of 60%
Flats – the minimum discount is 44% if your tenancy is at least 2 years and increases by 2% for each additional year to a maximum of 70%
BUT – your discount cannot be greater than the maximum discount of
£22,000.
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Your discount may be reduced by a special rule called the cost floor, which applies if your home has recently been purchased or built by your landlord or money has been spent on repairing or maintaining it. It means the price you pay cannot be less than what has been spent. If in the last 10-11 years this amounts to more than the market value of your home then you will not receive any discount.
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Repayment of discount – you can sell your home whenever you like however you may have to repay some or all of the discount depending on when you originally applied to buy your home and how many years you owned it before it was sold.