Buying your home
If you’re renting one of our homes, you may be eligible to buy your current home at a discounted price. There are three ways you can buy your current home:
- Via Right to Buy
- Via Right to Acquire
- Via Right to Shared Ownership
This page will explain the difference and how to get started.
The Right to Buy
The Right to Buy allows secure tenants to buy their home at a discounted price.
To be eligible you must:
- have a secure tenancy agreement
- have had a public sector landlord (including another housing association or council) for a total of 3 years
Your home also must be:
- your only or main home
- self-contained
Ex-council homes
If you lived in your home before it was managed by us, you may have ‘Preserved Right to Buy’. This means you may also qualify for a discount if you want to buy your home.
The Right to Acquire
The Right to Acquire allows assured tenants to buy their home at a discounted price.
To be eligible you must:
- have an assured tenancy agreement
- have had a public sector landlord (like us or another housing association or council) for a total of 3 years
Your home also must:
- have been built or bought by a housing association after 31 March 1997
- be your only or main home
- be self-contained
Right to shared ownership scheme
Launched in early 2023, the Right to Shared Ownership scheme allows some tenants in England to buy a share of their rented home on the same terms as shared ownership. Our first homes that qualify for this scheme were completed in September 2023.
This means:
- You may be able to buy a share of your home. Shares are usually 10-75% of the home. You can buy these with savings or take out a mortgage. If you are taking out a mortgage, then you will also need a deposit. Deposits are usually between 5% and 10% of the share you are buying.
- You will pay rent to the landlord on the share you don’t own. The larger the share you own the less rent you will pay. You will be able to ‘staircase’ in the future, which means to buy more shares in your home. When you buy more shares, your rent will decrease.
- You might have to pay monthly service charges, which are used to cover costs of things such as communal areas.
Who is eligible?
You may be able to buy a share of your home if:
- You are a social tenant who’s been in social housing for three years
- You have lived in a qualifying home for a year
- Your home is eligible for the Right to buy shared ownership scheme.
Customers must meet all of these requirements to be eligible.
Eligible homes
The Right to Shared Ownership will apply to new rented homes built as part of the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26, with some exceptions.
The following categories of property will be exempt from the scheme:
- homes in designated protected areas and rural exemption sites
- specialist homes for older, disabled and vulnerable people
- alms houses
- homes where the landlord is a co-operative housing association
- local authority (council) homes
How do I apply?
First, please contact our team at sales@guhg.co.uk. We will ensure you are eligible to buy or acquire your home.
Once we’ve confirmed you are eligible, you can download and fill in an application form from the GOV.UK website below:
- Right to Buy application form
- Right to Acquire application form
- Right to Shared ownership application form
Joint applications
You can apply to buy your home jointly with a family member or joint tenant if:
- your home is their only or main home
- they’ve lived with you for at least 12 months
Homes that aren’t eligible for Right to Buy or Acquire
Unfortunately, sometimes you won’t be eligible for either the Right to Buy or Acquire. This can be because:
- Your home has special features for, or is part of a sheltered scheme for, elderly, disabled or people with special needs.
- Your tenancy or licence was given to you as a homeless person or squatter
- You’re only temporarily living in your home
- There is a Seeking Possession or Possession Order on your home
- There is any legal action against you
- You have outstanding rent arrears
