Buying your home

Eligibility criteria

You can apply if:

• you've been a secure council tenant for at least 3 years (this doesn't have to be 3 years in a row).
• your home is your only or main home.
• you don't live in sheltered housing or accommodation designed specifically for older or disabled people.
• there is no possession order against you.
• you're not bankrupt or in a debt arrangement that hasn't been fully repaid.

You can buy your home by yourself, with a joint tenant, or with up to 3 family members who have lived with you for the last 12 months.

You cannot buy your home if:

• Your home is not self-contained.
• Your home is due to be demolished.
• You live in a house provided by the council so that you can be near your place of work.
• a court has ordered you to leave your home.

What happens to repairs and improvements

Once you apply, your home will be removed from planned improvement programmes (such as new kitchens or bathrooms). We'll still carry out any repairs needed for health and safety or to keep your home wind and watertight. All other repairs become your responsibility while your application is being processed.

Costs and discounts

We do not charge for our services to support you through the processes of buying your home, but standard charges associated with the purchase of a property do apply.

We will calculate the purchase price of your home at the date we receive your application form, less any discount you are entitled to.

The longer you have been a tenant, the more discount you are entitled to up to a maximum amount. You can find out more about what discount you could get by visiting Right to Buy discounts on GOV.UK .

Your discount may be reduced if we've spent a lot on repairing or maintaining your home in the last 10 years. We can't sell your home for less than we've spent on it.

There are a number of one-off costs involved when you buy a home such as stamp duty, legal and survey fees, and the costs associated with taking out a mortgage. Always take independent legal and financial advice.

How to apply

1. Get advice

If you decide home ownership is right for you, we recommend contacting these free services for advice and guidance:

• Money Helper
• Citizens Advice
• Your local Law centre

2. Complete the application form

Fill in the Right to Buy application form (RTB1 notice) .

3. Return to us

Send your completed application form to Right.To.Buy@kirklees.gov.uk or by post to:

• Kirklees Council Right to Buy Team
• Address PO Box 1720, Huddersfield, HD1 9EL

4. Our response

We will send you a notice (RTB2) no more than four weeks after receiving your completed form to tell you if you have the right to buy or not.

5. Offer of sale

If we agree to sell your home to you, we will send you an offer notice (known as the Section 125 Notice). This will tell you:

• The price you will have to pay.
• A description of the property.
• Estimate of service charges and any improvement costs for the first five years if the property is a flat or maisonette.
• Any structural defects that we know about.
• The terms and conditions attached to the sale.
• How to appeal against the valuation of the property if you feel it is too high.

Please note that we cannot quote a price for the property before it has been valued.

6. Getting a survey and legal advice

Before you decide to buy you should get an independent structural survey carried out by a qualified surveyor. You should also get some legal advice from a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

5. Tell us what you want to do next

You will need to decide if you want to buy your home or withdraw your application within twelve weeks of receiving your offer of sale.

If you do not tell us what you intend to do we will send you a reminder and if you do not reply within 28 days of this reminder we will assume that you do not want to buy and withdraw your application.

If you have decided to buy and you need a mortgage you will need to talk to a bank or building society.

6. Completing the purchase

If you have decided to buy you will need to return your acceptance form to us agreeing to the terms and conditions of the sale, along with the required documents that we have requested. You will need to instruct a solicitor, or licensed conveyancer to deal with the legal side of your purchase and to explain the terms of your lease if you are buying a flat or maisonette.

We will then send you a notice giving you 56 days to complete the purchase. If you have not completed within this time we will issue a second notice giving you a further 56 days to complete the purchase.

Current processing times

We're currently receiving a high number of applications, so it may take longer than 4 weeks to process yours. We'll work through applications in the order we receive them. Please only contact us if your circumstances have changed.

Further Information

Helpful additional information is available from the GOV.UK website:-

• Right to Buy discounts on GOV.UK
• Your right to buy your home: a guide
• Right to Buy: summary booklet - GOV.UK

Contact us

If you have any questions about Right to Buy please contact us in the following ways: