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Right to Acquire Information

The Right to Acquire is based on the Preserved Right to Buy Scheme but is solely for new tenants of One Vision Housing.

If you are a new tenant to One Vision Housing and your tenancy started after 30th October 2006 this is the scheme you will use to purchase your One Vision Housing property.

There are several differences to the Preserved Right to Buy Scheme, most notably in the Discount Entitlement Provision and the Cost Floor Ruling.

Discount entitlement & Discount Repayment Criteria

The maximum discount entitlement for the North-West of England is £9,000. Please note there can be no appeal against this amount, regardless of how long you have been a tenant. Your discount entitlement depends on what time you have spent as a public sector tenant. This includes time spent with One Vision Housing, other Housing Associations, Armed Forces, Local Authorities and certain other public sector bodies. Your RTB1 (application form) will list all relevant public sector organisations.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria remain roughly the same as the Preserved Right to Buy:

You must be a new tenant of One Vision Housing, with your tenancy starting after 30th October 2006.
You must be a Protected Assured Tenant of One Vision Housing. If you are on an Introductory, Assured Short hold or Service Tenancy, your application will be refused.
You must have 5 years as a public sector tenant.
You may be able to exercise your Right to Acquire with other members of your family who have lived with you for at least 12 months and are registered with One Vision Housing as living in your property.
We will require proof of residency
You may be refused the Right to Acquire if your property is classed as Sheltered Accommodation or it is particularly suitable and has custom design features for occupation by elderly/sick or disabled persons. This will include the services of an on-site or locality based Warden, a lifeline telephone and access to a communal lounge/area.
If you have been to Court over rent arrears, and the Judge has issued a Suspended or Postponed Possession Order, your application may be cancelled. One Vision Housing Legal Services Section will advise on all Court rulings if the tenant has an on-going Right to Acquire application with One Vision Housing.
If you are refused the Right to Acquire, you may appeal to the Department of Communities & Local Government (DCLG). This must be done in writing within 56 days of being refused by One Vision Housing.

Cost Floor Ruling

If you are applying to purchase your home, the landlord of the property (One Vision Housing), has the right to reclaim repair and maintenance costs which in total exceed £5,500 from 30th October 2006 until the date of your application.

What this means is that if we have spent over £5,500 from 30th October 2006 on your property, we are allowed to reclaim the excess money from you. This does not affect your discount but will be added onto the value of the property. If your home has been modified and improved under the Decent Homes Scheme it is likely that costs of over £5,500 have been incurred on your property.

Freehold & Leasehold Purchases

If you purchase a house under the Right to Acquire Scheme, you will be purchasing the FREEHOLD of the property. This means you will buy the structure of the property and the garden areas around your house and you will be solely responsible for any repairs and maintenance to this area.

If you purchase a flat under the Right to Acquire Scheme, you will be purchasing the LEASEHOLD of the property. This will mean that One Vision Housing will retain an interest in the property and you will be liable for annual service charge payments for the duration of the lease. Please refer to the leaseholder living section of this website for further details.

Further Information

The DCLG (Department of Communities & Local Government) Website contains the most comprehensive information on all home ownership schemes operated by Local authorities and Residential Social Landlords.

There are a number of websites which you can use to give you an idea of how much properties are being sold for in your area, an example of such a website is upmystreet .This site can give you an early indication of what your property may be valued at but please note the valuation provided by our independent valuation office may differ, you are allowed to challenge the valuation provided via the District Valuation Office whose ruling will be final.

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