Council Offers £40k RTB Alternative

Barking and Dagenham Council tenants could receive a £40,000 cash payment in place of their Right to Buy discount if they purchase their new home on the open market by 31 March. The scheme is known as the ‘Right to Buy Social Mobility’. It enables tenants who are eligible to buy their current council property through the Right to Buy process to forego the discount available on that particular council property and access a £40,000 cash payment towards the purchase of another home on the open market instead. The scheme is very limited with only enough cash for 40 applicants and is only available until Thursday 31 March, by which point the council tenant must have been assessed as eligible for the Right to Buy, approved for a mortgage and completed on the sale of their new home. Read more on the Barking & Dagenham website. 

Osborne Offers Tenants Cash as Right to Buy Alternative

George Osborne has announced an £84m pot to offer social tenants up to £30,000 to buy a new home on the open market. The policy will allow tenants who would have qualified for the Right to Buy to leave their social home and buy a new property. Dubbed the Social Mobility Fund, it will be offered to tenants across England from April.  Local authorities will bid for a share of the cash, which they can then offer to tenants. The deadline for bids is 18 March. The maximum discount available will be £20,000 across England and £30,000 in London, which is substantially lower than the £70,000 and £100,000 respectively offered under the Right to Buy. Download the prospectus from the CLG website.