Voluntary Right to Buy

The government hasn’t decided when Voluntary Right to Buy will roll out in full across England, but there have been two pilot schemes so far.

Five housing associations took part in a limited pilot of Voluntary Right to Buy in January 2016 which is now closed. The government launched a second pilot in the Midlands on 16 August 2018. The chance to register for this pilot closed on 16 September 2018, and those who entered the ballot to take part were emailed by the government with their results before the end of October 2018.

Home Group hopes that by taking part in this pilot, we’ll be supporting the roll out of Voluntary Right to Buy in full across England in the near future.

The second pilot was to test other parts of the scheme that weren’t tested in the 2016 pilot.

Customers who were eligible and in the pilot area, were given the opportunity to register their interest in Voluntary Right to Buy on the government gateway which was open until 16th September 2018.

Under rules set by the government, applicants were chosen at random to participate in the Voluntary Right to Buy pilot by ballot. Successful tenants were emailed a unique reference number (URN) by the government before the end of October 2018.

The URN only lasted for four weeks from the date of receipt, for tenants to complete and submit the application form within the four week period.

During the application process an admin fee of £250 was payable, which was only refundable if the sale completes or if we had to turn you down. If you chose to leave the process e.g. for financial or practical reasons, this fee was not refunded.

The opportunity to register for the latest pilot closed in September 2018.

We wrote to our customers in the pilot area to let them know how to get involved in the scheme which the government decided to run as a ballot. To be eligible for a discount under the Voluntary Right to Buy pilot scheme, customers needed to meet the following criteria. Customers need to:

• Be over the age of 18
• Have the Right to Reside in the UK
• Have been a public sector tenant (usually of a council or a housing association) for at least three years and have been the tenant of the property that you would like to purchase for at least one year
• Not be eligible for the Preserved Right to Buy or Statutory Right to Buy schemes
• The property is their only home and intended residence at the point of sale
• Not have any rent arrears on your current property or any former Home Group property, or you have a plan in place to repay arrears before any sale is completed
• The home is not due to be demolished or disposed of
• Have no outstanding possession orders
• Not be subject to bankruptcy proceedings or unfulfilled credit arrangements
• Not subject to an anti-social behaviour order or notice of intent to seek possession for breach of tenancy conditions
• Don’t already own a property or will not end your ownership on or before the completion of the Voluntary Right to Buy.
• Don’t live in a property contained in a wellbeing, older persons scheme or other supported housing, or that is let under the following tenancies:

• • Rent to Buy
  • Mortgage Rescue
  • Market Rent
  • Starter/One year fixed term probationary
  • Assured Shorthold Periodic (young person’s temporary housing)

Certain properties may not qualify. Tenants of those properties would be offered a portable discount to buy another Home Group property, or that of another Housing association involved in the pilot.

If you registered and were successful in the government ballot, we also run a series of checks on both your tenancy and property to confirm your eligibility.

What if I’m not in the region of the new pilot or am unsuccessful in the government ballot?

We are still committed to Voluntary Right to Buy and would like to offer all our customers the opportunity to own their own home.

Until the government rolls out Voluntary Right to Buy in full across England, you can explore Home Group’s other home ownership options here.

We are still committed to Voluntary Right to Buy and would like to offer all our customers the opportunity to own their own home.

Until the government rolls out Voluntary Right to Buy in full across England, you can explore Home Group’s other home ownership options here.

The government had a budget of £200 million for the pilot, which was used to help determine how many people they can fund to take part.

Even if you’re successful in the government ballot, you’ll be able to choose whether you carry on with the process or not.

However, please be aware, if you change your mind after you’ve already paid the admin fee of £250, this fee will not be refunded.

A limited number of places were available on the pilot and unfortunately not everyone who entered the ballot will have been able to participate.

Applicants were selected at random by the government, as they believe this is the fairest way of allocating the limited number of places available.

Until the government rolls out Voluntary Right to Buy in full across England, you can explore Home Group’s other home ownership options.

The decision to allocate places on the scheme via a ballot was made by the government. The government decided to use a ballot because they believe this is the fairest way to allocate the limited number of places available on the pilot.

The alternative would have been to allocate spaces on a first come, first served basis. The government felt that this would have disadvantaged tenants with accessibility issues or those who could not get onto the internet in the first few days of opening.

We will not sell properties where:

• There are legal restrictions preventing us from doing so
• The property is not fully self-contained, for example when there is a shared kitchen or bathroom
• The cost floor (which takes into account what has been spent on building, buying and maintaining the property) for the property is higher than the market value
• The property is in a regeneration area and regeneration is a viable option
• Leasehold properties where there is less than 99 years left on the lease or where the property is a house, leasehold flats with more than 99 years left on the lease will not be affected
• There are other reasons preventing the sale, for example in relation to financial impact on the wider housing scheme

All properties initially assessed as ineligible for sale will be reassessed to see if action can be taken to remove barriers and allow a sale to proceed.

• Legal costs – solicitor/conveyance
• The £250 application fee
• A mortgage broker or adviser may charge a fee, if you take out a mortgage
• Land registry fee
• Stamp Duty if applicable
• Removal costs
• Fees for additional property valuation or structural survey if needed (the initial valuation will be paid for by Home Group)

Once you’re the homeowner, a number of responsibilities will become yours:

• Freeholders: all maintenance and repair costs
• Leaseholders (flats only): internal improvements and routine repairs. External repairs and improvements and major structural repairs to the whole block will be the responsibility of the landlord, but you may have to pay service charges each year, and are likely to have to meet the costs of major repairs and refurbishment, which can be substantial
• Home insurance
• You may wish to consider additional life assurance or insurance for if you have to stop working or are otherwise unable to pay your mortgage
• You will no longer be able to claim housing benefits

The government’s Right to Buy website has more guidance on costs associated with home ownership. You can also contact a government Right to Buy agent through the website, they can help with:

• Finding out if you're eligible
• Working out your discount
• Looking at your funding choices
• Guidance about the costs involved and whether you can afford it long term
• Completing your application form
• Finding a solicitor

The discount is worked out in an identical way to the statutory Right to Buy for council tenants. You can use the government’s Voluntary Right to Buy calculator to work out the level of discount on your home.

Home Group are committed to building customer independence and aspirations. Our research into this has shown a huge 87% of our customers want to own their own home, which is why we support Voluntary Right to Buy and other home ownership options.

All the money we make through Voluntary Right to Buy will also be reinvested so we can build more affordable housing.

The government agreed to extend Right to Buy to all housing association customers in 2015. This is called Voluntary Right to Buy, as housing associations are voluntarily working with the government to support the roll out of this scheme, but they are not legally required to do so.

The government is testing the scheme through pilots first, so they can make sure the new scheme works well when it’s rolled out in full across England.

Housing associations will receive compensation for every home sold under Voluntary Right to Buy and Home Group is committed to a 2:1 replacement policy, helping us create new homes for tenants, while also supporting customers who aspire to get onto the property ladder.

We want to tackle the housing crisis head on, which is why Home Group have a commitment to build 10,000 new homes by 2021. Any surplus we make is always reinvested so we can provide more affordable homes, support the repair and maintenance of our existing properties, and continue to grow our services, offering support to the most vulnerable.

If you’re a shared owner, unfortunately you won’t be eligible for Voluntary Right to Buy. 

However, you can talk to us about buying further shares of your home, also known as staircasing, here.

You can find out more information about the scheme at:

• The government’s VRTB web page
• The government’s Right to Buy agents
• Citizens Advice
• Mortgage Advice Bureau