Buying your home

Homes owned by Cheltenham Borough Council

Right to Buy

You probably have the Right to Buy if you are a secure tenant of Cheltenham Borough Council.

Some types of properties (such as sheltered flats for the elderly) may be excluded, but most other flats, bungalows and houses can be bought.

To qualify you must have been a public sector tenant (usually a tenant of a council or a housing association) for at least 3 years. You do not have to have lived in your present property for all of this time, previous tenancies can count towards this period.

If you exercise your Right to Buy, you will get a response notice from the council either accepting or denying your right to buy. If accepted, your home will be valued, and you will be sent an offer notice telling you the valuation of your home, the discount allowed, the sale price and the conditions of sale.

PLEASE NOTE: Once you have applied to buy your home, Cheltenham Borough Council will not carry out any works to the property that could affect the valuation, with the exception of emergency repairs.

Right to Buy discounts

The government announced in the October 2024 budget that Right to Buy discounts will be reduced. The maximum discount available will depend on where you live.

From 21 November 2024 the maximum discount for Cheltenham Borough Council tenants will be £30,000, in line with the South West of England.

Homes owned by Cheltenham Borough Council

Right to Acquire

The Right to Acquire was introduced by the Government to allow some tenants of registered landlords to buy their home. The Right to Acquire is only applicable to CBC built properties which qualify for the scheme.

If you apply for the Right to Acquire and your application is successful, CBC will arrange for your property to be valued by an independent, qualified surveyor.

If you have the Right to Acquire, you will be entitled to a discount on buying your home from CBC. The level of the discount is decided by the government and varies depending on which Local Authority area you live in.

Unlike the Right to Buy scheme, the discount does not change depending on how long you have been a public sector tenant. The discount you are entitled to will be deducted from the market value of your home and this will be the price at which you can buy your home.

To qualify for the Right to Acquire you and your home need to meet the following criteria:

• If your first public sector tenancy started before 18 January 2005, you do not have the Right to Acquire until you have been a public sector tenant for 2 years (this can be at different properties).
• If your first public sector tenancy started after 18 January 2005, you do not have the Right to Acquire until you have been a public sector tenant for 5 years (this can be at different properties).
• Your property must have been bought or built by CBC using grant given by the Housing Corporation or Local Authority on or after 1st April 1997.

For more information visit GOV.UK, email housing@cheltenham.gov.uk or contact a member of the leaseholder team on 0800 408 0000