Buying your council home

Find out if you’re eligible to buy your council home under the Right to Buy scheme and how to apply.

To apply to buy your council home you must have been a secured council tenant for the last three years. If you were a council tenant when you were transferred to another landlord, like a housing association, you may also have a preserved right to buy.

If you have had any breaks as a tenant, you can still include previous tenancies in this three year total.

You may not be able to buy your council home if:

  • you are in breach of any part of your tenancy
  • your property is in sheltered housing or is specifically suitable for elderly or disabled tenants
  • you have any outstanding possession orders
  • you have any legal problems with debt

Before you apply we recommend that you seek legal advice and visit the government's official Right to Buy website for detailed information.

Valuation of your property and the right to buy discount

When we receive your application, we will obtain the current market value of your home. Any home improvements you have made will not be included in the valuation.

You will receive a discount on the value of your home. The discount amount will depend on the type of property and the total time you’ve been a tenant. The longer you have been a tenant the bigger the discount you could get.

With effect from 22 November 2024, the maximum discount you could get is £38,000.

Discounts for houses and bungalows

You may be entitled to a discount of 35% on the value of your home if you have held a tenancy between 3 and 5 years.

The discount will increase by 1% for every additional year you have been a tenant, from 6 years up to a maximum of 40 years and 70% discount.

Discounts for flats and maisonettes

You may be entitled to a discount of 50% on the value of your home if you have held a tenancy between 3 and 5 years.

The discount will increase by 2% for every additional year you have been a tenant, from 6 years up to a maximum of 15 years and 70% discount.

Flats and maisonettes are sold on a long lease. Owning the lease gives you the right to live there for the period of your lease and sell it when you wish.

The building and the ground on which the property sits, still belongs to the council.

Lease periods are usually 125 years, but can be shorter.

As well as a mortgage, you as the leaseholder is responsible for paying:

  • the annual ground rent
  • annual service charges
  • any maintenance charges

Before you apply we recommend that you seek legal advice and visit the government's official Right to Buy website for detailed information.

Repairs and Right to Buy

We will only carry out emergency repairs to your home once we receive your Right to Buy application. As your landlord we will carry out routine repairs until you apply.

If a large repair would normally happen as part of a repairs programme it may not be possible to do the work whilst you are applying to buy your home. This is because it may affect the value of the property.

You will need to consider if you wish to buy your home in its present condition or wait for the necessary work to take place before applying.

Once you have bought your home we will no longer be responsible for carrying out repairs to your property.

Report a repair

How to apply

You will need to print out and fill in 2 forms:

Identity checks

We will need to see an original photo ID and an original copy of proof of residence for each person applying.

Valid forms of ID are a:

  • current passport
  • current driving license
  • ID card

Proof of residence at the property can be a:

  • recent utility bill
  • bank statement
  • wage slip
  • P45
  • P60

These can be brought into either the Civic Centre (Littlehampton) or Bognor Regis Town Hall to be certified. 

You can send the completed forms to:

Leasehold Department (Residential Services)
Arun Civic Centre
Maltravers Road
Littlehampton
West Sussex
BN17 6AB

Contact our Right to Buy officer on 01903 737979 for advice.

Selling your ex-council property

Offering the property back to us

If you want to sell your ex-council property within 10 years of buying it, you’ll have to offer the property back to us first.

We may not buy the property from you, but you do have to make the offer.

You can sell your home to anyone if we do not agree to buy it within 8 weeks.

Paying back your discount

You’ll have to pay back some or all of the discount you got if you sell your Right to Buy home within 5 years of buying it.

You’ll have to pay back:

  • 100% of the discount within the first year
  • 80% of the discount in the second year
  • 60% of the discount in the third year
  • 40% of the discount in the fourth year
  • 20% of the discount in the fifth year

The amount you pay back depends on the value of your home when you sell it. 

If you are thinking about selling your ex-council house, please email us at leasehold@arun.gov.uk