Right to Buy Mortgage
Right to buy mortgages are designed specifically for public housing tenants who want to buy their home from their local council, non-charitable housing association or housing action trust under the Right To Buy Scheme. The Right To Buy Scheme was introduced in the UK to give everyone the opportunity to buy their own home. It allows council house tenants to purchase their home at a discount price in most cases. The discount can be large and is larger for tenants who have occupied their home for a long time. Council flat occupiers receive a larger discount than council house occupiers do. For both the discount only applies if the occupier has lived in their home for more than two years. For flats the initial discount is 44% with an additional 2% discount for every year of occupation thereafter. After five years the discount would be 50% and after ten years the discount would be 60%. The maximum discount is 70% for a council flat. Housing discounts start at 32% after two years and increase by 1% every year after, until it reaches the discount limit of 60%. These limits may be lower due to maximum cash discount limits, which vary from location to location. In general, the more expensive the areas’ housing is the larger the maximum cash discount limit is. London’s maximum cash discount limit is the highest, and the north-east is the smallest.
In order to qualify for a Right To Buy mortgage you must be the legal tenant of the property you wish to purchase and you must have occupied the property for at least two years. It can be very beneficial to buy your council home as monthly right to buy mortgage repayments can be lower than rental payments, and once the mortgage is fully paid off you own a property.