Right to buy
Buying your council house or flat
The Right to Buy was introduced in 1980. Certain tenants can buy their home at a discount to the full market value. Your discount is based on the number of years you have spent as a public sector tenant. There are different discount levels depending on whether your home is a house or a flat.
Who is eligible?
Not all council tenants have the Right to Buy. You might be eligible if:
- you are a tenant of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
- you have been a tenant for at least three years
- your home is your only or principal home
- your home is self-contained (you do not share a bathroom or kitchen with another household)
There are circumstances when tenants are not entitled to buy their home. In the Royal Borough the usual reasons for not being able to buy are:
- the property is ‘sheltered accommodation’
- the property is occupied as part of your employment, for example, as a caretaker or school-keeper
- a court has made a possession order which says that you must leave your home
- you are an undischarged bankrupt, have a bankruptcy petition pending against you, or have made an arrangement with creditors (people you owe money to) and you still owe them money.
What is the process?
There are several stages you need to go through when you buy your home.
Step 1 Applying to buy your home and Submission
- Complete the RTB1 form
Send your completed RTB1 form directly to [email protected]
Or you can Post or hand deliver your application to:
Housing Management Customer Service Centre –
- for North: Malton Road Hub | 2-4 Malton Road | London | W10 5UP
- for South: 12 Blantyre Street, London, SW10 0DS
Step 2 Verification checks and issuing the RTB2 notice
- RBKC has four weeks from submission of the RTB1 form (permitting or denying the Right to Buy application). Once we are in receipt of your RTB1 form, you will be ask to attend our office to provide your supporting evidence.
- The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering and to verify your identity. If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance, or employment. Further details of how your information will be used by us and these fraud prevention agencies, and your data protection rights, can be found at Cifas.
Step 3 Issuing the Landlord Offer Notice Section 125
- RBKC has eight weeks within which to issue this notice for a freehold (house) and 12 weeks for a leasehold (flat) after admittance
Step 4 Accepting offer/requesting determination/withdrawing application.
- Tenants must choose one of these options no later than 12 weeks after receiving their Landlord Offer Notice Section 125 Notice
Step 5 Default Notice
- RBKC will issue a 28-day letter after the Section 125 offer expires, if you do not choose any of the options in step 4
Step 5a Default Notice expires, termination of the Right to Buy
- RBKC will terminate your Right to Buy application after the 28-day letter expires if we do not hear from you.
Important update regarding the RTB discount
The government have reviewed the Right to Buy discount and have announced, that from the 21 November 2024, the maximum discounts will be reduced from £136,400 to £16,000.
Please note: any application received on the 21 November 2024, or after this date will only be eligible for the new discount.
Please see the useful links below, for more information about the Right to Buy scheme and the new reduced discount.
Further information
Contact the Neighbourhood Management Team in the first instance about the options available to you.
You will need to complete a form RTB1. Copies of this form are available from RBKC Housing Management Services on 0800 137 111, or you can download it from below.
You can hand in the form to the Housing Management Customer Service Centre or email it directly to [email protected].
As part of the eligibility checks for your Right to Buy, you will need to provide photographic ID such as a passport / driving licence as well as the following:
- Three months of bank statements if applicant is only a tenant
- 12 months of bank statements if applicant is a family member
When submitting an application electronically please put the property address in the subject of the email. To complete the eligibility checks, you need to come to the Housing Management Customer Service Centre with original documentation.
If you would like to find out about other affordable home ownership options, please contact the Housingline, telephone 020 7361 3008.