Drummonds Finance Group
Right-To-Buy
Mortgages
If you rent your home from the council, Right to Buy lets you buy it at a discount, and that discount can usually be used in place of a cash deposit. We help council tenants across England find a lender that accepts the discount, works with their income and gets the purchase through the council's deadlines, including tenants on benefits, older buyers and those with past credit problems.
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✓ Right to Buy Mortgage Specialists | ✓ Right to Buy Discounts Considered | ✓ Mortgage in Principle Often Same Day | ✓ Access to 100+ Lenders
Why Choose Drummonds for Right to Buy Mortgages?
✅Whole-of-Market Access
We compare options from a wide range of mainstream and specialist mortgage lenders rather than being limited to one bank.
✅Right to Buy mortgage specialists
We understand how Right to Buy purchases work and the lender criteria that can apply when buying your council or housing association home.
✅Complex income expertise
We can assess applications involving overtime, bonuses, benefits, multiple jobs, self-employed income and other regular earnings.
✅Strong lender criteria knowledge
We look beyond headline rates and focus on which lenders are genuinely suitable for your income, property and circumstances.
What do you need to know before buying your council home?
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You usually need three years as a public sector tenant. The time doesn't need to be continuous or in the same home.
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Your discount can act as your deposit. Many buyers need little or no savings of their own.
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The discount is capped in cash. The cap ranges from £16,000 to £38,000 depending on where you live, so on many homes it's far less than the percentage suggests.
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The lender matters. Not every lender offers Right to Buy mortgages, and their rules on benefits, flats and age vary widely.
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There are deadlines. Once your landlord's offer arrives, you usually have 12 weeks to accept, so it pays to start mortgage advice early.
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Selling early costs money. If you sell within five years, you repay some or all of the discount.
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The rules are changing. Planned reforms will cut discounts and raise the qualifying period to ten years once they become law.
How much will your Right to Buy discount actually be worth?
The percentage discounts sound generous, but for most homes the cash cap decides what you get. Here's how it works out in practice:
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A house in Bicester worth £300,000, after 10 years as a tenant: the 40% discount would be £120,000, but the South East cap limits it to £38,000, so you'd pay £262,000.
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A flat in Oxford worth £200,000, after 6 years as a tenant: the 52% discount would be £104,000, but Oxford's cap limits it to £16,000, so you'd pay £184,000.
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A house in the North East worth £90,000, after 4 years as a tenant: the 35% discount would be £31,500, but the cap there limits it to £22,000, so you'd pay £68,000.
This matters for your mortgage, because lenders see the discount as your deposit. A £38,000 discount on a £300,000 home is roughly a 13% deposit, while £16,000 on a £200,000 flat is just 8%, so in capped areas you may need a lender that goes to a higher loan to value, or some savings on top. Your landlord's Section 125 offer confirms the exact figure, and the discount can be lower if money has recently been spent on the home.
What is Right to Buy?
Right to Buy is a government scheme that lets most council tenants in England buy the home they rent at a discount on its market value. It applies to council homes, and to some housing association tenants who used to rent from a council and kept a "preserved" Right to Buy when their home was transferred.
Other housing association tenants may be able to use Right to Acquire instead, which works in a similar way with smaller discounts. Right to Buy has ended in Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland has its own scheme, so this page covers England.
Who can apply for Right to Buy?
According to GOV.UK, you can usually apply if:
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you've had a public sector landlord, such as a council, housing association or NHS trust, for at least three years in total, which don't need to be in a row
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the home is your only or main home
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the home is self-contained
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you're a secure tenant
You can buy jointly with your partner, and with up to three family members who have lived with you for the past 12 months, even if they aren't named on the tenancy. Adding a working family member to the purchase can make a big difference to how much you can borrow.
How much Right to Buy discount will I get?
The discount depends on how long you've been a public sector tenant and whether you live in a house or a flat. Under the current GOV.UK rules:
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Houses: a 35% discount after three to five years as a tenant, rising by 1% for each extra year
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Flats: a 50% discount after three to five years as a tenant, rising by 2% for each extra year
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Maximum discount: the lower of 70% of the property's value or the cash cap for your area
The cash caps were cut sharply for applications made from 21 November 2024. In the South East the cap is £38,000, which covers Cherwell (including Bicester and Banbury), South Oxfordshire and West Oxfordshire, but in some higher-value areas, including Oxford and the Vale of White Horse, it is £16,000. Across London it's £16,000, apart from Barking and Dagenham and Havering. Your discount can also be reduced if your landlord has spent money building or maintaining the home in the last 30 years.
How much can I borrow for a Right to Buy mortgage?
Lenders assess Right to Buy applications in the same way as any other mortgage, looking at your income, outgoings and credit history. Most lend around four to four and a half times income. Our mortgage calculator gives a quick guide.
If your income alone isn't enough, a family member who lives with you can join the purchase, or a relative can help with affordability through a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage without owning part of the home.
Mortgage in principle today.
If you’re planning to buy your council or housing association home through Right to Buy, a Mortgage in Principle can give you a clearer idea of how much you may be able to borrow before progressing with your mortgage application. We can also assess how your Right to Buy discount, income and deposit position fit with different lenders’ criteria. Many lenders use a soft credit search at this stage, although this varies by lender. In straightforward cases, we can often arrange a Mortgage in Principle the same day.
Specialist Mortgages
Not every mortgage fits a lender's computer model. Much of our work at Drummonds Finance Group is with clients who have been turned down elsewhere or told their case is too complicated. We work with clients across the UK by phone and video, and we know which lenders will look at each situation properly.
Can I use my Right to Buy discount as a deposit?
Yes. Most lenders that offer Right to Buy mortgages treat the discount as your deposit, so you may not need any savings at all. For example, if your home is valued at £250,000 and your discount is £38,000, you'd pay £212,000, and a lender could lend the full purchase price while still seeing it as about 85% of the home's value.
Some lenders lend 100% of the discounted price, while others want a small cash deposit on top. Lenders also look at how big the discount is compared with the value, so the right lender depends on your figures. If you're buying with a smaller discount, a gifted deposit from family can help close the gap.
Can I get a Right to Buy mortgage with bad credit or rent arrears?
Missed payments, defaults or CCJs reduce the number of lenders, but specialist lenders still consider Right to Buy applications, and the discount acting as a deposit often helps. Rent arrears are looked at closely, and your landlord can refuse an application in some circumstances, so it's best to clear any arrears before you apply.
Our adverse credit mortgages page explains how lenders view credit problems.
Can older tenants buy through Right to Buy?
Yes. Many Right to Buy applicants are older tenants who have rented the same home for decades. Lenders set maximum ages, but some will lend into retirement using pension income, and others offer retirement interest-only mortgages. Our mortgage age limits page explains the options.
How does the Right to Buy process work?
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Apply to your landlord. You send a Right to Buy application form, known as an RTB1, to your landlord.
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Your landlord replies. They must confirm whether you can buy, usually within four weeks, or eight weeks if they haven't been your landlord for at least three years.
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You receive an offer. Your landlord sends a formal offer, known as a Section 125 notice, setting out the price, the value, your discount and, for flats, estimated service charges. This normally arrives within eight weeks for a house or 12 weeks for a flat.
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You accept and arrange your mortgage. You usually have 12 weeks to accept. This is when we apply to the lender, using the details in the Section 125 notice.
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You complete the purchase. Your solicitor completes the legal work and the home becomes yours.
If you think the valuation is too high, you can ask for it to be reviewed by an independent district valuer, usually within three months of the offer. It's worth speaking to us as soon as you apply, so your mortgage is ready to go when the offer arrives.
What if I'm buying a flat through Right to Buy?
Council flats are usually sold as leasehold, so you'll pay service charges and a share of the cost of major works, such as roofs, windows and lifts. The Section 125 notice gives estimated service charges and planned works for the first five years, and lenders take these costs into account when working out what you can afford. Some lenders are also cautious about flats in high-rise blocks or certain types of construction, so the right lender matters.
What happens if I sell my Right to Buy home?
If you sell within five years, you'll have to pay back some or all of your discount, based on the home's value when you sell:
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Year 1: all of the discount
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Year 2: 80% of the discount
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Year 3: 60% of the discount
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Year 4: 40% of the discount
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Year 5: 20% of the discount
If you sell within 10 years, you must first offer the home to your former landlord or another local social landlord. In some rural areas there can also be limits on who you can sell to. Full details are on GOV.UK.
Is Right to Buy changing?
Yes. The government has announced further reforms that will be brought in when parliamentary time allows. They include:
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raising the minimum time as a public sector tenant from three years to ten
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changing the discount to start at 5% of the value, rising by 1% a year to a maximum of 15% or the cash cap, whichever is lower
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exempting newly built social homes from Right to Buy for 35 years
Until the new law comes into force, the current rules above apply. If you're eligible now, applying under today's rules could give you a bigger discount, so it's worth getting advice sooner rather than later.
Is Right to Buy the right choice for me?
Buying your council home can be a good way onto the property ladder, but it also means taking on everything a landlord used to pay for, including repairs, maintenance and, for flats, service charges and major works. Mortgage payments may also be higher than your current rent.
It's worth comparing the options. Our shared ownership mortgages and first-time buyer mortgages pages cover other routes to owning a home, and we'll talk you through the full costs before you commit.
Do I pay stamp duty on a Right to Buy purchase?
Stamp duty is worked out on the discounted price you actually pay, not the full value, and first-time buyer relief can apply if you've never owned a home. Many Right to Buy purchases fall below the stamp duty threshold. You can check the figure with our stamp duty calculator.
Why use a broker for a Right to Buy mortgage?
Not every lender offers Right to Buy mortgages, and those that do have different rules on how much of the price they'll lend, how they treat the discount, which benefits they accept and how they view flats and older borrowers. Choosing the wrong lender can mean a decline after the council's clock has started.
We're a whole-of-market broker, so we compare every suitable lender, check your Section 125 notice and present your application in the way the lender needs to see it, so you can buy within the council's deadlines.
How we help with your Right to Buy
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We talk through your tenancy, discount, income and plans, including anyone buying with you.
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We work out what you can borrow and which lenders accept your circumstances.
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We review your Section 125 notice as soon as it arrives.
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We submit your mortgage application and work with your solicitor and the council.
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We stay in touch until you own your home, and before your first fixed rate ends.
Right to Buy mortgages in Oxfordshire and across England
We're based in Wendlebury, Oxfordshire, and help council tenants in Oxford, Bicester, Banbury, across Oxfordshire and throughout England, with appointments by phone or video.
Author
Written by Liam Drummond CII (MP), owner and named mortgage broker at Drummonds Finance Group. Member of the Personal Finance Society, the Society of Mortgage Professionals and the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Liam specialises in complex cases, including benefit income and adverse credit, and helps council tenants across England buy their homes through Right to Buy.
Drummonds Finance Group is a trading style of Liam Drummond, who is an Appointed Representative of Stonebridge Mortgage Solutions Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA number: 945428.
On this page we have set out the key things to know before buying your council home and what your discount is likely to be worth in cash. We have explained what Right to Buy is, who can apply, how the discount is worked out and how to use it as your deposit. We have covered how much you can borrow, buying on benefits, with bad credit or rent arrears, and as an older tenant, the Right to Buy process, buying a flat, selling and repaying the discount, remortgaging, the planned changes to the scheme, whether Right to Buy is right for you, stamp duty and how we help you through it.