Own Your Home

Your right to buy your home

As a tenant of Nehemiah Housing Association, you may be able to buy your home at a discounted price thanks to the following government incentives to increase home ownership.

Right to acquire – Available to tenancies starting after 1 April 1997 or any other assured tenancy where Social Housing Grant is attached.  Discounts range from £9,000 – £16,000 dependent on where you live.

Guidance on can be found here

Right To Buy – Available to secured tenancies (tenancy transferred from local authority ownership and remained on a secured tenancy arrangement).

The maximum discount is £87,200 (or £116,200 in London) or 70% of the property value, whichever is less. The amount you will receive depends on how many years you have been living in your current home, whether it is a house or a flat, and its value.

House –  you get a 35% discount plus an extra 1% for each year over 5 years that you have been a public sector tenant.

Flat – you get a 50% discount plus 2% for every year over 5 years you have been a public sector tenant.

Guidance on Right to Buy can be found here

Shared Ownership –  Shared Ownership is another way to buy your home. You buy an initial percentage and pay rent on the rest.  You can buy more shares gradually overtime and eventually fully own your home (Staircasing).

Download the Nehemiah Shared ownership advice and guidance leaflet.

How Do You Apply?

Before you contact us, we would recommend seeking independent legal and financial advice to make sure this is the right decision for you and to help with the purchase process if you decide to buy your home.

Once you have contacted us, we will send you an application form to fill in and return to us.  We will then check your eligibility to proceed under one of the options available.

If you qualify, we will require a valuation prior to any formal offer notice that details the purchase plans. The process typically takes around 12 weeks.

What Happens If You Want To Sell Your Home?

If you sell it within 5 years then you may need to pay back some or all of the discount you received.  Further details are in the guides provided in the links.

Right To Buy Scheme Changes In 2022

The government announced in June 2022 that the Right To Buy scheme will be extended to all housing association tenants. This means it may be possible for you to buy your home even if you don’t qualify for the eligibility criteria detailed above.

The government is yet to confirm the details for this extension to the scheme, including eligibility and discount and application process, and we will let you know as soon as we have more information to share.