Right to Buy

Only those named on the tenancy records have the right to buy, along with up to three qualifying family members who have lived at the property for 12 months prior to the right to buy application.

Yes, you can either visit our offices on Mole Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham B11 1XA, or you can call us on 0121 303 7926/7928/7929 and a member of the Home Sales Team.will be able to help you.

Birmingham City Council works closely with registered social landlords (RSLs) and private developers to make homes available on the Affordable Housing Scheme. Affordable housing is aimed at people who are:

• First time buyers;
• Unable afford to buy a home on the open market;
• Living in areas affected by demolition and clearance;
• Looking to rent a home but cannot afford to pay market rents.

There are a number of options available to help people afford somewhere to live:

HomeBuy scheme
HomeBuy is government-backed scheme. To find out more, contact Orbit Homebuy - which looks after the scheme for our area - at hba@orbit.org.uk, or visit the Orbit Homebuy website.

Shared Ownership
Shared Ownership means buying part of your home and renting the rest. Then, when you can afford it, you can buy the whole of your home outright, if that’s what you want.

Discounted Sales
The council negotiates with developers to set aside a number of properties to be sold at a discounted price. These homes usually sell at 70% or 75% of the full market price.

Intermediate Rent
These schemes offer good quality, private accommodation at a reduced price on six month assured shorthold tenancies. There is no right to buy these properties.

Assessment of needs
Each RSL or private developer will carry out a detailed assessment of each applicant's circumstances to see if they are eligible to take part in the scheme. The general criteria states:

• Single applicants must earn no more than £25,000 a year. The amount will be reviewed every year;
• Couples must not earn more than £40,000 per year. This figure will be reviewed every year;
• Applicants must meet conditions set by the local authority;
• Applicants must not have any county court judgements;
• Applicants already renting a property must have clear rent accounts.
• Applicants must be able to get a mortgage and have enough income to meet the costs of running the property they want to buy.

Want to find out more?
If you want to find out more about affordable housing you can download the leaflet at the bottom of this page. There is also an Affordable Housing Application Form which you can download and post to the address stated on the form.

Alternatively you can contact the affordable housing development officer on 0121 464 0580.

Yes, but some of the discount will need to be repaid if it is sold within the first five years after completion.

The discount repayable will be the same percentage of the resale value of your home as the original percentage discount, not just the discount that was received. This figure is reduced by 20% for each full year after the purchase date, in other words:

• within the first year of completion – the whole discount is repayable
• within the second year of completion – 80% (four-fifths) of the discount is repayable
• within the third year of completion – 60% (three-fifths) of the discount is repayable
• within the fourth year of completion – 40% (two-fifths) of the discount is repayable
• within the fifth year of completion – 20% (one-fifth) of the discount is repayable
• after five complete years no discount is repayable.