Right to Buy or Acquire schemes.pdf

							Right to
Buy or Acquire
schemes

Moving on




tenant    tenant
checked   checked
This leaflet provides information                     Do you qualify for the
about funding schemes that could                      Preserved Right to Buy?
help you buy the home you rent.
This is one of a number of leaflets
we produce for our customers. You
can find them all on our website or
in our offices.                                       A. You must answer ‘YES’ to all of the following
                                                      questions.
At Riverside, we are committed to                      — Were you a council tenant or a tenant of another
providing excellent service to all our                   public sector landlord, and was your home
customers. We value diversity and                        transferred to a housing association under stock
                                                         transfer?
do everything we can to make our                       — Have you been a tenant for more than two years
services available to as many people as                  or did you take on a tenancy that is more than
possible. This commitment to equality                    two years old?
                                                       — Is the property you rent your main home?
is at the heart of everything we do.
                                                      B. You must also answer ‘NO’ to all of the
                                                      following questions.

                                                       — Do you have a bankruptcy petition pending or are
                                                         you an undischarged bankrupt?
                                                       — Have you made any arrangements with creditors
                                                         to pay any outstanding debts at reduced
                                                         payments and do you still owe them money?
Contact us                                             — Have you been served a final Possession Order or
    www.riverside.org.uk                                 broken the terms of a postponed or suspended
    email: enquiries@riverside.org.uk                    Possession Order?
                                                       — Have you been served with a court order
    Customer Service Centre                              suspending your Preserved Right to Buy, or had your
    24 hours a day, 365 days a year                      tenancy demoted due to anti-social behaviour?
    0845 111 0000
    With inclusive call packages or mobile phones,    If you have answered ‘Yes’ to all the questions in
    it may be cheaper to call 0345 111 0000           section A, and ‘nO’ to all the questions in section B,
                                                      you may qualify for the Preserved Right to Buy.
    You can also visit your local office
                                                      Further information on eligibility can be found in the
    (for more details visit our website or call us)
                                                      Department for Communities and Local Government
    We are happy to accept Typetalk calls             booklet, ‘Your Right to Buy Your Home’, which is
    Minicom: 0845 111 7766                            available to view on our website.
2                                                                                                              3
Do you qualify for the                                      Do all properties qualify for the
Right to Acquire?                                           Right to Buy or the Right to Acquire?




C. You must answer ‘YES’ to all of the following            no. The Right to Buy or the Right to Acquire does not
questions.                                                  apply to the following:

    — Is your tenancy an assured tenancy (not a starter       — sheltered accommodation
      tenancy)?                                               — a house that is one of a group of homes and has
    — Did your tenancy start before 18 January 2005,            special features for people with physical
      and have you been a public sector tenant for              disabilities or for those with special needs who
      more than two years OR did your tenancy start             require intensive housing support
      after 18 January 2005, and you have been a public       — temporary accommodation
      sector housing tenant for more than five years?         — tied accommodation (service tenancies)
    — Is the property you rent your main home?                — accommodation particularly suitable for
                                                                occupation by people aged 60 or over
D. You must also answer ‘NO’ to all of the                    — a property that your landlord has published an
following questions.                                            intention to demolish within five years or has
                                                                served notice of the intention to demolish within
    — Do you have a bankruptcy petition pending or are          two years.
      you an undischarged bankrupt?
    — Have you made any arrangements with creditors         Please note: the Right to Acquire only applies to
      to pay any outstanding debts at reduced               property built or purchased with public funds, or
      payments and do you still owe them money?             transferred by a local authority after 1st April 1997.
    — Have you been served a final Possession Order or      Rural exemptions may apply. Please get in touch for
      broken the terms of a postponed or suspended          further information.
      Possession Order?
    — Have you been served with a court order
      suspending your Preserved Right to Buy, or had your
      tenancy demoted due to anti-social behaviour?

If you have answered ‘Yes’ to all the questions in
section C, and ‘nO’ to all the questions in section D,
you may qualify for the Right to Acquire.

Further information on eligibility can be found in the
Housing Corporation’s booklet, ‘Guide to the Right to
Acquire’, which you can view on our website.
4                                                                                                                    5
How do I start the home
buying process?
You can contact us to discuss your individual
circumstances and we can let you know how to apply.


How long does it take?                                    How much discount will I receive?

When you have submitted an application form you will      The discounts for the Right to Buy and Right to Acquire
be advised within eight weeks if your application has     schemes are fixed. We will work out the purchase price by
been accepted or rejected.                                getting an open market valuation and then applying
                                                          the discount.
Within 12 weeks a valuation will have taken place and
you will have been sent an offer notice. The offer will   Please contact us so we can discuss your individual
include the Valuation Discount sale Price.                circumstances with you.


What will the price be?

Right to Buy                                              Completion
The Right to Buy scheme gives tenants a discount on
an open market valuation of the property.                 Once you receive an offer notice, you have three
                                                          months in which to complete the purchase.
The maximum amount of discount depends on where
you live and how long you have been a public sector       To do this you should secure a mortgage offer from
tenant with us or another Right to Buy landlord. The      an approved lender and instruct a solicitor to act on
qualifying period can include time spent in different     your behalf.
homes and with different landlords. The tenancy must      If you do not accept the offer within three months, a
be a public sector tenancy and does not have to be a      notice will be served on you allowing you a further 56
continuous tenancy.                                       days to complete. If you still don’t complete the
Right to Acquire                                          purchase another notice will be served allowing a
The Right to Acquire scheme gives tenants a discount on   further 56 days to complete.
the open market valuation of the property. The maximum    Once this notice has expired you will have to re-apply
amount of discount depends on where you live.             and a new valuation will need to be obtained.

                                                          If you want to talk to a member of staff about any of
                                                          the information in this leaflet, please contact us.




6                                                                                                                  7
If you need this information in another
format (such as large print, audio or
another language) please contact us.
 0845 111 0000




Contact us
     www.riverside.org.uk
     email: enquiries@riverside.org.uk
     Customer Service Centre
     24 hours a day, 365 days a year
     0845 111 0000 or 0345 111 0000
     You can also visit your local office
     (for more details visit our website or call us)
     We are happy to accept Typetalk calls
     Minicom: 0845 111 7766

The Riverside Group Ltd
Registered office: 2 Estuary Boulevard,
Estuary Commerce Park,                    April 2009
Liverpool L24 8RF                         Details correct at time of printing
A charitable Industrial                   Printed on 75% recycled paper
and Provident Society                     with 25% from FSC-certified sources
Tenant Services Authority No. L4537       A-R2/013-0409V1.0C