Right to Buy

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About Right to Buy

  • What is the Right to Buy Scheme?

    The Right to Buy scheme was introduced in 1980 to give tenants of local authorities the right to buy their home at a discount.

    The value of the discount is worked out based on the number of years a person has been a tenant.

    As this scheme has so far been by voluntary agreement (not legislated) it is called Voluntary Right to Buy.

  • Why is Right to Buy in the news again in June 2022?

    Under new Right to Buy proposals, announced in June 2022, the government are proposing to extend the scheme to also include tenants of housing associations, as well as those living in local authority homes.

    The government has not yet explained how the new scheme will work or when it will be launched, but their intention would be to build a replacement social home for each one sold.

What does this mean for tenants in Leicestershire Rural Housing Association homes?

  • LRHA homes

    We know that some of our customers may be excited at the possibility of buying their home. However, our expectation is that homes in designated rural areas will be exempt from the scheme – and this will include most of Leicestershire Rural Housing Association’s (LRHA) homes.

    There are several reasons for this:

    • Most of LRHA’s homes are built on rural exception sites and have Section 106 agreements (a legal agreement) in place to ensure that they remain as affordable homes in perpetuity (forever) for the benefit of the community.
    • Homes in rural areas would be very difficult to replace – due to lack of land and planning policies.
    • Due to the lack of affordable homes in rural communities, the loss of any affordable homes, and the time taken to replace them, would have a disproportionate impact on rural communities.

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