You are eligible to apply to buy your council home if you:
- are at least 18 years old
- are a council tenant with a secure tenancy agreement
- have had a public sector landlord (a council, housing association or NHS trust) for 3 years - it doesn鈥檛 have to be 3 years in a row
Time spent in temporary accommodation (for example, a bed and breakfast or a hostel) or time spent as a demoted tenant does not count towards your qualifying period.
Housing association tenants, armed forces tenants and tenants of a public body such as the NHS may also qualify.
You may not qualify for the right to buy if:
- you have an introductory or demoted tenancy agreement
- you have a possession order against you, or you have broken the terms of a suspended possession order
- you are not up to date with rent payments before you complete the purchase - you will need to pay any suspended arrears in full before purchasing your council home
- you have been declared bankrupt or are waiting to hear the outcome of a bankruptcy petition against you, or you have made an arrangement with creditors (people or organisations you owe money to) and you still owe them money
- you (or any household members or visitors) are involved or threatening to be involved in anti-social behaviour
- you have an application pending against you for a demotion order, a suspension order or a possession order because of anti-social behaviour. Or the court has changed your tenancy from a secure to a demoted tenancy because of anti-social behaviour. This will suspend any current right to buy application you have and prevent you from applying to buy your home while your tenancy is demoted.
You can take to check whether you are likely to be eligible.