Quick answer
Right to Buy lets many council and some housing association tenants in England buy their home at a discount. Once your landlord makes its offer, we check it, deal with the landlord's solicitors and your lender, and complete the purchase.
Our fee is our standard purchase fee plus the "Right to Buy" charge of £250 + VAT. Choose Right to Buy in our instant quote to see every line, including VAT and third-party costs.
On this page
What we do for you
- Check the landlord's offer: the price, the discount and what is included in the sale
- Read the title, or the new lease if you are buying a flat, and explain what you are agreeing to
- Run the searches and report anything that affects the property
- Act for your mortgage lender, and meet its conditions before completion
- Complete the purchase, file any Stamp Duty return and register you as the owner
The Right to Buy steps and deadlines
To qualify, the home must be your only or main home and self-contained, you must be a secure tenant (or have a preserved Right to Buy because your council sold your home to a housing association while you lived there), and you need 3 years as a tenant of a public sector landlord (they do not have to be in a row). GOV.UK sets out the full rules.
- You applyRTB1 form
You send the Right to Buy application form (the RTB1 notice) to your landlord.
- Within 4 weeksLandlord replies
Your landlord says yes or no, or within 8 weeks if you have had your landlord for less than 3 years. If it refuses, it must say why.
- Within 8 or 12 weeksThe offer
The landlord sends its offer: 8 weeks for a freehold home, 12 weeks for a leasehold one. It shows the price, the discount and, for a flat, service charge estimates for the first 5 years.
- Within 12 weeksYou reply
You have 12 weeks to say you still want to buy. If you think the value is too high, you have 3 months from the offer to ask for an independent valuation.
- ConveyancingWe take over
Typically 8 to 10 weeks for a freehold home, or 10 to 12 weeks for a leasehold one, from instruction to completion, depending on the landlord, the searches and your lender.
Deadlines from GOV.UK, checked on 20 October 2026. You can pull out and keep renting at any time before you complete.
Your discount
The discount starts at 35% of the value for a house and 50% for a flat after 3 to 5 years as a public sector tenant. After 5 years it goes up by 1% (house) or 2% (flat) for each extra year. It is capped at whichever is lower: 70% of the value, or the maximum for your area.
For applications from 21 November 2024, the maximums are much lower than before:
| London | £16,000 £38,000 in Barking and Dagenham, and Havering |
|---|---|
| South East | £38,000 £16,000 in Reading, West Berkshire, Hart, Oxford, Vale of White Horse, Tonbridge and Malling, Epsom and Ewell, and Reigate and Banstead |
| Eastern | £34,000 £16,000 in Watford |
| South West | £30,000 |
| North West | £26,000 |
| West Midlands | £26,000 |
| East Midlands | £24,000 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £24,000 |
| North East | £22,000 |
For applications from 21 November 2024, the discount is reduced by what your landlord has spent building or maintaining the home in the last 30 years, and there is no discount if it has spent more than the home is now worth. You may also get a smaller discount if you have used Right to Buy before.
Figures from GOV.UK's Right to Buy discounts page, checked on 20 October 2026. Your landlord's offer shows your own figure.
Buying a flat under Right to Buy
A council flat is usually sold on a lease, so you become a leaseholder. You pay a service charge, and your share of any major works to the building. The offer has to include the landlord's estimates of service charges for the first 5 years. We read the lease and those estimates with you before you commit.
See our leasehold conveyancing page for what changes when you own a flat on a lease.
If you sell later
- Within 5 years: you usually pay back some or all of the discount. All of it in the first year, then 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% in years two to five, worked out on the value when you sell.
- Within 10 years: you must first offer the home to your old landlord or another social landlord in the area, at the full market price. If it does not agree to buy within 8 weeks, you can sell to anyone.
From GOV.UK's selling your home page, checked on 20 October 2026. This is general information about the rules, not financial advice.
What it costs
| Our legal fee | From our purchase scale, based on the price you pay. Your instant quote shows it. |
|---|---|
| Right to Buy | £250 + VAT, added for the discount paperwork and the landlord's extra conditions (England only) |
| Dealing with Building Safety Act | £500 + VAT, added when the flat is in a building of five or more storeys (or over 11 metres) in England |
| Dealing with your lender's own solicitors | £300 + VAT, only if your lender instructs its own solicitor rather than us |
| VAT | 20% on our fees and on some third-party costs (shown in your quote) |
| Third-party costs (disbursements) | Listed separately in your quote, for example searches |
Buying a flat adds "Dealing with Leasehold" (£150 + VAT). Our fee ranges and hourly rates are on our fees page.
Set by the government, shown separately: Stamp Duty Land Tax and the HM Land Registry fee are not part of our fee. See GOV.UK for the Stamp Duty rates.
Buying your first home? See conveyancing for first-time buyers.
Who oversees your matter
What clients say
Where we act
-
Leicester office 3rd Floor, St George's House, 6 St George's Way, Leicester LE1 1QZ 0116 393 0334
Conveyancing in Leicester
Questions people ask about Right to Buy
How much does a Right to Buy solicitor cost?
Our legal fee comes from our purchase scale, based on the price you pay, and the "Right to Buy" charge of £250 + VAT is added for the discount paperwork and the landlord's extra conditions. VAT is added to our fees, and third-party costs, such as searches, are listed separately. Your instant quote shows every line before you instruct us. Stamp Duty and the HM Land Registry fee are not part of our fee.
Do I need a solicitor for Right to Buy?
You can make the application yourself on the RTB1 form. Once you accept the landlord's offer, you will usually want a conveyancer to buy the property, and if you are taking a mortgage, your lender will need one. We can usually act for you and your lender at the same time.
How long does Right to Buy take?
The application stage has set deadlines: your landlord has 4 weeks to reply to your application (8 weeks if you have had your landlord for less than 3 years), then 8 weeks to send an offer for a freehold home or 12 weeks for a leasehold one. You have 12 weeks to reply. Once you accept, the conveyancing typically takes 8 to 10 weeks for a freehold home or 10 to 12 weeks for a leasehold one from instruction to completion, depending on the landlord, the searches and your lender.
What if I think the landlord's valuation is too high?
You can ask for an independent valuation by writing to your landlord within 3 months of getting the offer. A district valuer from HM Revenue and Customs then decides what your home is worth, and you have 12 weeks to accept that value or pull out.
Do I have to pay the discount back if I sell?
If you sell within 5 years of buying, you usually pay back some or all of the discount: all of it in the first year, then 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% in years two to five. The amount is worked out on the value when you sell. If you sell within 10 years, you must first offer the home to your old landlord or another social landlord in the area.
Can I use Right to Buy in Wales?
No. Right to Buy ended in Wales in January 2019, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules. This page covers England only.
What happens if my purchase falls through?
You pay the File Opening Fee (Non-refundable), £100 + VAT, and any third-party costs we have already paid out for you, such as searches. Anything else you have paid us is refunded, or carried over to your next purchase when you find one. You can pull out of Right to Buy and keep renting at any time before you complete.
Helpful guides
Accepted your landlord's offer, or about to? Get your itemised quote online, or call either office.