Stage 1 – The Application
Firstly you must fill in and return the application form ‘ Notice claiming the right to buy’ which is known as the RTB1. You will see this abbreviation on other papers you will receive from us. RTB1 forms are available from your local Area Housing Office, from the Right to Buy Section at Wigan and Leigh Housing (tel. 01942 701350) or click on the link below to download the form.
Stage 2 – Eligibility Checks
When we have received and checked your application form we will acknowledge your application and start investigating if you are eligible to buy your home. When the results are known we will send you a RTB2 Notice to tell you if we can accept your application to buy or not. If we do not accept your application, we will give you the reason why on the RTB2 Notice. We will send you this Notice within four weeks if you have been a tenant with Wigan Council for at least two years. If you have not been a Wigan Council tenant for two years this Notice will take up to eight weeks to reply to you because we have to check the information on your other tenancies with your previous landlord. You should keep the RTB2 Notice in a safe place as you may need to give it to your bank or building society if you are having a mortgage.
As soon as your Right to Buy application is received any improvements or repairs that are due to be done will be cancelled (except for work required by law to keep the property weather-tight). This is because when the property is valued the valuation is based on the date your RTB application was made. Any improvements or repairs after that date would affect the valuation.
Stage 3 Valuation / Survey
A letter will be sent with the RTB2 Notice providing a phone number for you to ring to arrange for the property to be valued. You must ring the valuer within ten days to arrange a convenient time to come and value your home.
Stage 4 – Price Notice
After the property has been valued we will send you the ’Landlord’s Offer Notice’, also known as the Section 125 Notice. The Section 125 Notice is one of the most important documents you will receive and you should read it carefully. This will tell you the value of the property, the purchase price to you after discount, any terms and conditions relating to the purchase of the property and structural defects noted by the valuer.
It will also explain what you need to do next. The Section 125 Notice will be sent to you within eight weeks of the RTB2 Notice if you are buying a house, or within 12 weeks if you are buying a flat.
Once you have received this Notice and you decide to go ahead you should:
- begin to make arrangements for your mortgage;
- have a structural survey carried out (your mortgage lender may be able to arrange this for you); and
- choose a solicitor to act for you in the legal process.
Stage 5 – Your Response
You must now tell us what you are going to do next. You will have to decide if you want to:
- buy your home outright under the Right to Buy;
- consider appealing against the Landlord’s valuation; or
- forget about buying your home and continue to pay rent.
You must reply to us within 12 weeks of receiving your Section 125 Notice, telling us what you are going to do. There is a ‘Notice of Intention’ form with the Price Notice for you to complete and return. If you don’t contact us within 12 weeks you will get a reminder. If you still don’t write within another 28 days we will withdraw your application.
If you have returned the ‘Notice of Intention’ form to us indicating that you wish to proceed with buying your home but we do not hear anything further from you or your solicitor within 12 months of the date of the Section 125 Notice, we will send you two Notices telling you to complete the sale. If you do not answer within eight weeks of the second Notice we will withdraw your application.
Stage 6 – Completing the Sale
If you decide to continue with the purchase of your home and you have still not chosen a solicitor or arranged your mortgage you should do this now. Your solicitor will be able to clear up any doubts you have about the terms of the sale or the lease (if it is a leasehold sale). Once you have told us that you are going to buy your home we will tell the Council’s solicitors to write to your solicitor. Your solicitor will contact you to discuss the details of the sale and arrange a completion date.
Generally speaking, if everything is straightforward and there are no problems, the sale will normally complete within 3 months of you notifying us that you wish to proceed with the purchase.
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