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Cambridge City Council

Applying for the Right to Buy

If you want to apply for the Right to Buy, contact us for more information about buying your home.

The application process

Your right to buy application needs to be dealt with within certain timescales set out by the government.

The process is set out in the step-by-step guide below.

Application received

Firstly we will receive your application form, you will be asked to fill out an additional information form and provide proof of identification, residency and affordability.

You will also be offered an informal interview to discuss the implications of buying your home. Appointments are available on Thursday and Friday mornings.

Notice of admittance or denial

RTB2 Admittance/Denial Notice sent to tenant within four weeks (eight weeks if you have previously been a tenant of another landlord) of us receiving your application.

Offer notice

If your right to buy is admitted, we will contact you to arrange an inspection of your home for the purposes of the valuation.

We then have eight weeks if your property is a house, or twelve weeks if your property is a flat, to send you your Section 125 Offer Notice.

This Offer Notice will describe the property, tell you the price of the property and the discount you are entitled to.

If your property is a flat, the notice will also contain estimates of the service charges and maintenance costs you will have to pay as a leaseholder.

Your Offer Notice will also contain a structural defects sheet that will detail any structural defects that were noted at the time of inspection.

However, please note that we do not carry out a survey of your home - you will have to arrange this yourself.

Stating your intentions

Once you have received your Offer Notice, you have 12 weeks from the date of your offer to inform us of your intentions.

If you wish to purchase the property, you need to return your Notice of Intention to Proceed, giving your solicitors details.

Alternatively, if you wish to withdraw your application you will need to return your Withdrawal Notice.

If you do not reply

If we do not receive a response from you within the 12 weeks stipulated, then you will be issued with a 28-Day Notice requiring the service of either a Notice of Intention to Proceed or a Withdrawal Notice.

If you do not reply within the 28 days then your application will be deemed to be withdrawn and your application will be cancelled.

Your intention to proceed

When you return your Notice of Intention to Proceed, your file will be passed to our legal team, who will then be dealing with your purchase directly with your solicitor.

We have the discretion to serve a Notice to Complete your purchase, three months after you serve your Notice of Intention to Proceed on the Council.

If you do not complete the purchase within the time stipulated by the notice, then your application will be withdrawn.

Service related queries

For questions about a service we provide, please use our contact us form