The government has announced the launch of a reinvigorated Right to Buy policy.
Introduced in 1980 the original Right to Buy scheme gave tenants of both local authorities and non-charitable housing associations the chance to buy their home at a discount if they have been public sector tenants for at least five years. The discount increases with the length of the tenancy and for flats starts at 50% rising to a maximum of 70%. There is also a maximum cap on the discount which varies between £16,000 and £38,000 depending on the geographical location of the property. To encourage more take-up of the Right to Buy the government intends to increase the maximum cap across England to £75,000. Subject to parliamentary approval this increase will take effect from 2nd April 2012.
The government announced its intention to increase the caps in Laying the Foundations: A Housing Strategy for England which set out the aim to ensure receipts on additional homes sold under the scheme are used to fund replacement, on a one-for-one basis, with new affordable homes for rent.
(News story taken from:http://www.lease-advice.org)
