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kate152
kate152 Community member Posts: 1 Listener
edited December 2016 in Housing and independent living
Housing I live in a one bedroom bungalow and would like to know my rights on right to buy 

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  • Alex
    Alex Posts: 1,305 Pioneering
    edited December 2016
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    Hi @kate152

    Welcome to the community!

    There is a guide to "right to buy" from the Government here:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/428698/150515_Your_Right_to_Buy_Your_Home_A_Guide_May_2015.pdf

    I don't know your particular situation, but it might be relevant to know (from page 4) that as a tenant, you may be able to claim housing benefit to help with your rent - however you cannot claim this to help with a mortgage. 

    I also presume that you don't live in sheltered housing - which is exempt from the scheme.

    I'm not an expert, this is just what I've learnt from a quick Google search, but I hope that's useful.

    Thanks,
    Alex

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  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
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    Hi @kate152,

    Before we can work out what your rights are, we would need to know what your current housing status is. Are you a secure tenant? How long have you lived in your property?

    Other things you need to look into more importantly are whether you will need a mortgage to purchase the property. Do you have a deposit? Is your income enough to sustain a mortgage and the responsibility of repairing and maintaining the property? 

    As Alex has said above, you can't claim Housing Benefit to help with mortgage payments it only covers rent. There is some help by way of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) which helps with some of the interest on your mortgage payments but it can be very difficult to get when you're taking out a new mortgage. There are changes coming in April 2018 which will mean that the help currently offered by way of a benefit, is changed to a loan. The loan would be repayable if/when the claimant is able to go to work or when the property is sold. This will be a big change and it's something you need to factor in when considering home ownership.

    There is of course all the other related costs like legal fees, stamp duty and so on.

    If you need anything else, give me a shout I'm happy to provide some further information.

    Best wishes
    Debbie
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