Can I rent out my right to buy home?

In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “Can I rent out my right to buy home?” This is important if you are considering buying a RTB home.

Can I rent out my right to buy home?

Yes, you can rent out your right to buy hoe immediately after your purchase is complete. There is no restriction on renting out your right to buy home but it has been done so frequently that this has garnered media attention and the Government may revise the right to buy rules in the future and stop people from renting out their reight to buy homes. 

Over 40% of the right to buy homes which were sold are now being privately rented out.

If you move out of your rent to buy home due to renting it then you must provide the council who sold it to you with up to date contact details for you. You may also need to notify the council’s legal service team wh may charge you a sublet fee for renting out your right to buy home. This is a none off fee.

Although renting your right to buy home has little to no repercussions if you intend to sell your right to buy home then you will be required to repay some if not all of the right to buy discount you received based on when you sell the property.

If you sell the property within the first year of acquiring it then you will have to repay back 100% of the discount in relation to your sale price. 

This means if your discount was 50% you will have to repay 100% of 50% of the sale price within the first year.

After the first year, you must repay 80% of 50% of the sales price.

After the second year, you must repay 60% of 50% of the sales price.

After the third year, you must repay 40% of 50% of the sales price.

After the fourth year, you must repay 20% of 50% of the sales price.

After the fifth year, you will not have to repay any of the discount you received..

You must also offer the property back to the council who sold it to you if you want to sell it within the first ten years. This is because they have a right of first refusal on the property.

The council will let you know if they want to buy it and at what cost. If you dispute their valuation you can get an independent district valuer to provide a valuation.

FAQs: Can I rent out my right to buy home?

Alternatives to the right to buy scheme

Some of the government schemes available outside of the right o buy scheme include:

• Lifetime ISA– gives you a government bonus of £1,000 if you save the maximum £4,000 a year.
• Help to buy ISA– gives a maximum bonus us £3,000 if you save the maximum allowed of £12,000. Before you get either you should consider which is better. Lifetime ISA vs Help to buy ISA.
• Help to buy equity loan- gives you up to 40% as a 5-year interest-free equity loan. You begin to pay interest at 1.75 % after the fifth year and 1% plus RPI for every year thereafter.
• Shared ownership– You can buy between 25% to 75% of the property initially with a shared ownership mortgage and then buy more using a staircasing mortgage.
• Armed forces help to buy– similar to the help to buy equity loan but specific for the armed forces personnel giving them an increased chance of acceptance.
• Rent to buy– This is the right to buy scheme on which this guide is currently discussing. A different marketing name is just used. Watch out for this when shopping to avoid missing out on eligible properties due to confusion.
• Preserved right to buy– same as above.
• Right to acquire- same as above.

Depending on where you live, you may also be able to take advantage of home buying schemes provided by your local council. Example: In Norwich, the local councils provide the Norwich home options scheme.

Once you have figured out which government scheme you are eligible for you should ensure you continue to meet the schemes eligibility requirements.

How to get a right to buy mortgage

You may want to consider using an independent mortgage broker to get a right to buy mortgage.

Mortgage brokers are important as they can access mortgage products from across the whole of the market in some cases. This could be over 11,000 mortgage products. This may have some advantages than going directly to a mortgage lender.

A mortgage broker will look to understand your financial circumstances and then provide recommendations on which mortgage products may be suitable for you.

After giving you these mortgage recommendations, most mortgage brokers will seek your consent to apply for a mortgage in principle. This will allow you to shop for your home easier as more estate agents and sellers may take you seriously or it will give you confidence that your remortgage is indeed a possibility before you make a full mortgage application. Once you have found a home you want to buy or are satisfied with the mortgage offer for your remortgage then the mortgage broker will then look to get you a mortgage offer.

This will come with a key facts illustration document which details out the features of your mortgage including how much you will pay per month if there are any limits such as early repayment fees, or annual overpayment limits.

If you are happy with everything you can then go on to secure your mortgage with the help of a conveyancer. Your conveyancer will manage the legal searches on the property to ensure there aren’t any issues with it, they will oversee the sales agreement to ensure it is in your best interest, they will manage the transfer of mortgage funds, exchange contracts with the seller or their conveyancer and set a completion date with the seller or their conveyancer.

In this brief guide, we covered the question: “Can I rent out my right to buy home?” If you have any questions or comments please leave them below.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.