If you are a council tenant, The Right To Buy Scheme enables you to buy your home at a discount price, provided that you have been living there for two years and meet the other qualification criteria.

There has always been a cash limit on Right To Buy discounts. You are eligible to claim up to 60% in discounts off the market value of your house, and up to 70% off a flat depending on the number of years you have been a tenant. At present the maximum cash limit on discount is:

£38,000 if you live in London or the South East *
£34,000 in the Eastern Region
£30,000 in the South-West
£26,000 in the North-West or the West Midlands
£16,000 in Wales
£24,000 in East Midlands or Yorkshire and the Humber
£22,000 in the North-East

* The Government decided that from March 2003 the maximum discount in 42 counties in the South East would be reduced from £38,000 to £16,000. Please contact us on 0207 732 5494if you need advice as to whether this affected you.

Reselling your home after buying under Right to Buy
You may sell your home whenever you like. But, if you sell within three years of buying it, you will usually have to repay some or all of the discount that you received.

• during the first year, you must repay all the discount;
• during the second year, you must repay two thirds of the discount;
• during the third year, one third must be repaid.

After three years you can sell without repaying any discount.