Right to Buy UK: England Rules, Discount Caps, Scotland and Wales Abolition

Right to Buy lets an eligible council tenant in England buy their home at a discount off its market value, but the scheme is no longer the same across the United Kingdom: Scotland abolished it in 2016, Wales abolished it in 2019, and Northern Ireland runs a separate House Sales Scheme with its own discount formula.

England: Right to Buy under the Housing Act 1985

An eligible secure council tenant (and, in some cases, a tenant of another landlord that took over former council stock) can buy their home under Part 5 of the Housing Act 1985. The discount off market value is capped at whichever is lower: 70 percent of the property's value, or a fixed cash limit that depends on where the property is (gov.uk: Right to Buy discounts). The percentage starts at 35 percent for a house and 50 percent for a flat once you have been a public sector tenant for three years, and rises after five years by 1 percent a year for a house or 2 percent a year for a flat (Housing Act 1985, section 129).

The regional discount caps, in force from 21 November 2024

These regional caps apply where the tenant's Right to Buy application (the notice under section 122 of the 1985 Act) was served on the landlord on or after 21 November 2024 (The Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (England) Order 2024).

The discount is also limited by a cost floor: it cannot reduce the price below what the landlord has spent building or maintaining the home over the previous 30 years (for applications served on or after 21 November 2024), and if that spending is more than the home is worth there is no discount at all (Housing Act 1985, section 131; SI 2024/1073, article 3). For applications served before that date the look-back period was 10 or 15 years (gov.uk: Right to Buy discounts).

Before 21 November 2024

Before that date, England used one flat national cap rather than nine regional ones: £136,400 for a home in a London borough and £102,400 outside London (gov.uk: Right to Buy discounts). A 2014 Order reset that cap at £102,700 in London and £77,000 outside London and then increased it automatically each year in line with the consumer prices index, rather than needing a fresh order (Housing (Right to Buy) (Limit on Discount) (England) Order 2014, article 2). The 2024 change replaced that single inflation linked figure with nine fixed regional caps that do not rise automatically.

Selling within five years: repaying the discount

If you sell the home within five years of buying it, your former landlord can demand back up to the same percentage of the sale price as your discount was of the home's value: all of it in the first year, then 80, 60, 40 and 20 percent of that amount in years two to five. Value added by your own improvements after buying is disregarded, in an amount agreed with the landlord or set by the district valuer (Housing Act 1985, section 155C), and some disposals, such as certain transfers to a spouse, civil partner or family member, are exempt (Housing Act 1985, section 155A; section 160). For ten years after buying, you must also offer the home first to your former landlord or another social landlord in the area before selling it on the open market (Housing Act 1985, section 156A; gov.uk: selling your home).

Eligibility

You can usually apply if the home is your only or main home, it is self-contained, you are a secure tenant, and you have had a public sector landlord for a total of three years, which need not be continuous (gov.uk: Right to Buy). The exact discount available for a specific property, and whether a specific tenancy qualifies, depends on individual circumstances. Check the official conditions on gov.uk: Right to Buy and apply to your landlord, who must say yes or no within 4 weeks (8 weeks if they have been your landlord for less than 3 years), before assuming a figure applies to you (gov.uk: applying).

Proposed changes: the Social Housing Bill

The government's Social Housing Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 14 May 2026, would change Right to Buy in England. As of 28 September 2026 it was a Bill, not law, and it had passed the House of Lords and had its second reading in the House of Commons on 10 September 2026, with Commons committee stage scheduled to begin on 27 October 2026 (UK Parliament: Social Housing Bill). As the Bill stood when it reached the Commons, it would, among other changes:

• stop the right being used where the tenant, or their spouse, civil partner or partner living with them, owns other residential property, with an exception for some victims of domestic abuse;
• raise the qualifying period from three years to ten years;
• set the discount at 5 percent plus 1 percent for each complete year over ten years, up to a maximum of 15 percent of the property's value, with the regional cash caps still applying where lower;
• extend the period in which the discount must be repaid on resale from five years to ten, with the amount falling by one tenth for each complete year;
• remove the ten year time limit on the landlord's right of first refusal; and
• stop the right applying to new social homes built after the change, for 35 years from completion.

As drafted, these changes would not apply to a claim where the tenant's Right to Buy application was served before the relevant change comes into force, and the ten year qualifying period and new discount rates would take effect on the day the Bill becomes law (Social Housing Bill, Bill 139, clauses 1, 6 to 9 and 22; gov.uk: Right to Buy overhaul, 28 April 2026). The Bill can still be amended, and it may or may not be passed. Until any change is passed and brought into force, the rules above apply.

Scotland: abolished since 2016

Scotland's right to buy no longer exists for any social tenant. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 repealed the right to buy provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987; an earlier related provision commenced on 20 November 2014, and the core repeal itself came into force on 1 August 2016 (Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, section 1). A council or housing association tenant in Scotland has no statutory right to buy their home.

Wales: abolished since 2019

Wales abolished the right to buy and the related right to acquire through the Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Act 2018, which received Royal Assent on 24 January 2018. Two months after Royal Assent, the Act first stopped the right being used on homes new to social housing stock; full abolition did not take effect until 26 January 2019, under the Act's own commencement order (Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Act 2018 (Commencement and Saving Provisions) Order 2018). Tenants who had already served a valid Right to Buy notice before that date could still complete their purchase under the old rules.

Northern Ireland: the House Sales Scheme

Northern Ireland still has a right to buy for Housing Executive tenants, through its House Sales Scheme; the equivalent statutory scheme for housing association tenants ended on 29 August 2022 (Housing (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2020, section 7). Secure tenants of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive of at least five years' standing can apply under the House Sales Scheme for a discount that starts at 20 percent of market value at the five year point and rises by 2 percentage points for every additional year of tenancy, up to a maximum of 60 percent or £24,000, whichever is lower (nidirect: House Sales Scheme). Selling within five years of buying means paying back the full discount, and the Housing Executive has the option to buy the home back if it is sold within ten years (same source).

This site was unable to independently confirm whether the House Sales Scheme is currently accepting new applications. The Housing Executive's own website returned an access error when checked, and the nidirect guidance page carries no visible suspension notice, which is not the same as a positive confirmation that applications are open. Contact the Housing Executive directly before relying on the scheme being available.

Not financial advice

This page explains the legal eligibility and discount rules for Right to Buy across the four nations. Whether to exercise the right, and how to fund a purchase, is a personal financial decision; get independent financial, and where needed legal, advice before committing to buy. For how a council allocates and manages its housing stock in the first place, see how council housing works. For the wider set of property topics, see the UK property law hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Right to Buy still exist in the UK?

Only in England, and in a different form in Northern Ireland. Scotland abolished the right to buy on 1 August 2016 and Wales abolished it on 26 January 2019. Northern Ireland keeps a House Sales Scheme for Housing Executive tenants, though the housing association scheme ended in 2022.

How much discount can I get on Right to Buy in England?

The discount is capped at whichever is lower: 70 percent of the property's value, or a fixed regional cash limit ranging from £16,000 in London to £38,000 in the South East, in force since 21 November 2024. The discount can be smaller, or nothing, if your landlord has recently spent a lot building or maintaining the home.

What was the Right to Buy discount cap before November 2024?

A single flat national cap applied: £136,400 for a home in a London borough and £102,400 outside London, before the government replaced it with nine regional caps on 21 November 2024.

When did Scotland and Wales abolish Right to Buy?

Scotland's abolition took full effect on 1 August 2016 under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014. Wales's abolition took full effect later, on 26 January 2019, under its own 2018 Act.

Is Northern Ireland's House Sales Scheme the same as Right to Buy in England?

No. It uses a different discount formula, starting at 20 percent at five years' tenancy and rising 2 percentage points a year to a cap of 60 percent or £24,000, whichever is lower, rather than England's regional cash caps.

Is Right to Buy changing in England?

Possibly. The Social Housing Bill, before Parliament in autumn 2026, would raise the qualifying period from three to ten years and cut discounts to at most 15 percent of the property's value. As of 28 September 2026 it was not law; it can still be amended, and it may or may not be passed. Until any change is passed and in force, the current rules apply, and as drafted the Bill would not affect an application already served before the relevant change takes effect.