This section of the website provides information on whether you are eligible to buy your home and what you need to do if you want to buy your home.

To find out if your home qualifies, please call the Home Ownership Team on 0845 408 6640.

For information on buying your home please see our Buying your A2 home leaflet.

Who can buy their home?

You can buy your home if you have the 'Right to Buy', the 'Preserved Right to Buy' or the 'Right to Acquire'. In this case you can buy your property for a reduced price.

What is the Right to Buy?

The Right to Buy means you may be entitled to buy your home for less than its full market value. Your discount is based on the number of years you have been the tenant of a council, a housing association or the armed forces (a public-sector tenant).

You have the Right to Buy if you have spent at least two years as a public-sector tenant and you had a secure tenancy before 18 January 2005.

• If your tenancy began after 18 January 2005, you will become eligible for the Right to Buy once you have spent at least five years as a secure tenant.
• A 'public sector tenant' includes someone who is, or has been, a tenant of a council, a housing association, or the armed forces.

What is the Preserved Right to Buy?

If you were a secure tenant of Spelthorne Council or another council and your home was transferred to us, you may have what is known as the Preserved Right to Buy. This means that you can buy your home for a reduced price in the same way as with the Right to Buy. The Preserved Right to Buy only applies if you were living in your home at the time of the transfer and are still living there.

What is the Right to Acquire?

The Right to Acquire applies to properties a council or housing association built or bought on or after 1 April 1997. However, it only applies if the Government gave the council or housing association funding towards the cost of building or buying the properties.

• If your tenancy began before 18 January 2005 you can buy your property if you have spent at least two years as a public sector tent.
• If you tenancy began after 18 January 2005, you will become eligible to buy your property once you have spent at least five years as a public sector tenant.

The property cannot be sold for less than it cost to build. A small discount is available to help tenants buy their home under the Right to Acquire.

To find out if your home qualifies for the right to acquire, call the Home Ownership Team on 0845 408 6640.