Right to Buy or Acquire

Right to Buy (RTB) or Right to Acquire (RTA) are schemes that enable our customers who rent their homes to buy them from us at a discount.

Right to Buy

The Preserved Right to Buy scheme is available to customers who held secure tenancies with Chelmsford Borough Council, which were transferred to us when we took ownership in March 2002. If you’ve remained a customer in the same property since this date, you may be eligible. If you’re eligible, you’ll receive a discount off the market value of your home, depending on your length of tenancy.

Discounts

On 30 October 2024, the government announced a reduction in Right to Buy discounts. 

The new discount figures began from 21 November 2024. However, Right to Buy applications received up to and including 20 November 2024 are being processed on the previous discount levels. 

Following the government’s review of Right to Buy discounts, maximum discounts are now £16,000-£38,000 or 70 percent of the property value, whichever is less. 

The level of the maximum discount available will depend on where you live, and you can learn more about this in the government’s guide. 

Please note that your discount may be less if you’ve used the Right to Buy scheme before.  

Example

If you live in a three-bedroom house in Chelmsford valued at £350,000 and you qualify to receive the maximum discount of £38,000 you would pay £312,000 for your home.

To find out if you’re eligible for Right to Buy, where you can get more advice and how to apply, register for or sign in to your online account. You can also find more information on the Government’s Own Your Home website.

Right to Acquire

The Right to Acquire scheme allows housing association customers to buy their current home at a discount. You can apply to buy your home if you’ve held an assured tenancy with us, in your own name, for three years or more. 

Discounts for this scheme are set by the Government and are between £9,000 and £16 ,000 depending on where you live.

Example

If you live in a three-bedroom house in Chelmsford valued at £350,000 and you qualify to receive the maximum discount of £16,000 you would pay £334,000 for your home.

You can visit the GOV.UK website to find out the discounts in your area. Your discount might be reduced if you’ve used Right to Acquire or Right to Buy before.

To check your eligibility, find out where to get more advice and where to apply, register for or sign in to your online account.

If you feel that Right to Acquire is not for you, for example if you can't afford to buy your home with the discount, you might want to consider shared ownership. This allows you to own part of a home until you can afford to buy more of it.