Right to Acquire Mortgages

Many lenders now offer Right to Acquire mortgages. You may or may not need to put down a deposit, depending on the lender and/or the discount offered under the scheme. (Some lenders accept the discount in place of a deposit.)

Bear in mind if you approach lenders direct, they will only advise you about their own products and criteria, they will not be able to give you information of the market as a whole. To be confident that you get the best possible deal for you, from the widest range of available mortgages, it is advised to speak to a specialist mortgage broker.

Right to Acquire specialists

At Just Mortgage Brokers, we have a specialist team of experts who can help secure you an affordable Right to Acquire mortgage. We have many years of experience working with a network of lenders across the UK, plus access to over 12000 mortgages from over 90 lenders and exclusive rates that are not available on the high street.
Get in touch today for free initial advice and no-obligation quotes from our team of experienced Right to Acquire mortgage brokers.

Difference in Right to Buy and Right to Acquire

Whereas the Right to Buy scheme is aimed at council tenants, the Right to Acquire scheme is intended for housing association tenants. If you were a council tenant at the time the property you rent passed to the housing association, then it is the Right to Buy scheme that applies to you.

How do I qualify for the Right to Acquire scheme?

To qualify for the scheme, you must currently be renting a housing association property and have had a public sector landlord for a minimum of 3 years. As well as housing associations, public sector landlords include: councils, the armed services, NHS trusts, and NHS foundation trusts.

You will not be eligible if you are in the process of being made bankrupt or if you have been ordered to leave your home by a court.

The property must be your only or main residence, and also self-contained. It must have been built or bought by a housing association, or transferred from a local council to a housing association, after 31 March 1997.

Your landlord must be registered with the Homes and Community Agency.

Assuming you, the property and your landlord all meet the necessary criteria, then you can move on to the next step.

Can I buy my housing association property?

If you qualify, then you need to complete an application form and send it to your landlord. If the purchase gets the green light you will be sent a property evaluation and, depending on where you live in the UK, you can get a discount of between £9,000 and £16,000 on the price of the property. (If you have used either the Right to Acquire or Right to Buy schemes previously, your discount might be reduced.)

If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, and you are confident you can afford to buy the property, then your next step is to sort out a mortgage if required.