Right to Buy: a discount of up to 70% — but only £16,000 in most of London

Right to Buy lets a council tenant in England buy their flat or house from the landlord at a discount. The discount is a percentage of the market value, but it is capped in cash, and the cap depends on the region. The caps were cut sharply for applications made on or after 21 November 2024, and they now decide whether buying makes sense at all.

Who can buy their council home?

You can apply if you are a secure tenant, the property is your only or main home, it is self-contained, and you have had a public sector landlord for three years. GOV.UK spells out that the three years do not have to be in a row — what counts is total time with public sector landlords.

You can apply jointly with anyone who shares your tenancy, or with up to three family members who have lived with you for the past 12 months, even if they are not on the tenancy agreement.

There is a separate route called Preserved Right to Buy. If the council sold your home to another landlord, such as a housing association, while you were living in it, the right may survive the sale. Ask your landlord to confirm.

How big is the discount and how does it grow?

For a house the discount starts at 35% after three to five years as a public sector tenant, then rises by 1% for each extra year. For a flat it starts at 50% after three to five years and rises by 2% for each extra year.

The growth is not unlimited. The discount stops at whichever is lower: 70% of the property's value, or the cash cap for your region. In practice the cash cap almost always bites first.

What is the maximum cash discount in each region?

For applications made on or after 21 November 2024 the caps are: London £16,000, except Barking and Dagenham and Havering, where it is £38,000; North East £22,000; North West £26,000; Yorkshire and the Humber £24,000; East Midlands £24,000; West Midlands £26,000; Eastern £34,000; South East £38,000; South West £30,000. Some areas inside the Eastern and South East regions have a lower cap of £16,000.

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For comparison, applications made before 21 November 2024 were capped at £136,400 in London boroughs and £102,400 outside London. The gap between the old and new figures runs into tens of thousands of pounds.

Why might you get no discount at all?

Because of the cost floor rule. GOV.UK states plainly that you will not get any discount if your landlord has spent more money on your home than it is now worth. Spending on repairs and improvements also reduces the discount in less extreme cases, and the look-back period for that spending depends on when you apply.

How do you apply and how long does the landlord have?

You apply on the RTB1 notice and send it to your landlord. The landlord must say yes or no within four weeks of receiving it. If you have been their tenant for less than three years, they get eight weeks. A refusal has to come with reasons.

Once the landlord says yes, they must send an offer within eight weeks for a freehold property, or twelve weeks for a leasehold one.

What should you check before applying?

Three things. First, your region: the difference between £16,000 across most of London and £38,000 in the South East changes the whole calculation. Second, the property type: the percentage is higher for a flat, but a flat is almost always leasehold, which brings service charges and ground rent a tenant never paid. Third, how much your landlord has spent on the home, because the cost floor can wipe the discount out.

Check the current figures and the RTB1 form on GOV.UK itself before you commit: the caps are reviewed and regional values change.