Richardson Law
Social HomeBuy
Homebuy Solicitors in Leeds - Richardson & Co. Solicitors LLP
Richardson & Co LLP are a specialist law firm with considerable experience in social housing conveyancing.
HomeBuy enables social tenants and first time buyers to buy a share of a home and get a first step on the housing ladder.
Social HomeBuy offers eligible housing association or council tenants the chance to buy a share of the market value of their current home. It also gives you a discount of between £9,000 and £16,000 depending on the location of the property and the size of the share you are buying. Not all local councils or housing associations offer the scheme. You need to check with your local council or housing association to find out if they offer the scheme or whether your home is included.
Tenants can buy a minimum 25 per cent of the value of the property and pay an initial rental charge of not more than three per cent of the market value of the remaining equity owned by the landlord. The amount of discount you receive will be in proportion to the share of the property you buy.
Examples |
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If a council property was valued at £240,000 and a tenant bought a 50 per cent share, the landlord’s charge at three per cent would be £3,600 and would work out as £300 per month. |
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If you are eligible for a total £16,000 discount from your council/housing association and you wish to buy 50 per cent of a property worth £200,000, the discount you would get on your share would be £8,000. |
You could buy 100 per cent of the property with the full discount if you can afford it.
Purchasers are entitled to a discount on any further shares they buy, not just on the initial share. So in the example above, if you bought a further 25 per cent, you would receive a further discount of £4,000.
Who can apply
Social HomeBuy is only available to you if:
- you are a local authority or housing association tenant and your landlord is offering the scheme
- you live in an eligible property
- you have been a tenant for a minimum of two years (or five years if you became a tenant after 18 January 2005)
If you have a joint tenancy, you will normally be buying with the other tenant. You may also include up to three members of your family - if they have lived with you for 12 months before you apply for the scheme. You may also be able to count previous council tenancies, even if they are not continuous.
You will not be able to apply if:
- you have an assured shorthold tenancy
- you have been issued with a suspension order relating to anti-social behaviour
- you are undergoing bankruptcy proceedings
- you have been issued with a court order that means that you must leave the property
