Buy your home
If you have been a social housing tenant for at least 3 years and are renting a Trent & Dove property you may be entitled to buy your home.
Can I buy my Trent & Dove home?
If you are a customer who transferred from East Staffordshire Borough Council to Trent & Dove in March 2001, you may have the Preserved Right to Buy.
If you are a Trent & Dove customer and have been a social housing tenant for at least three years, you may have the Right to Acquire.
Preserved Right to Buy
If your tenancy began on or before 26 March 2001 and were a tenant with East Staffordshire Borough Council, you can apply for the Preserved Right to Buy.
Circumstances in which the preserved right to buy cannot be exercised (Housing Act 1985).
You cannot buy your home if you have one of the following orders against you:
- Possession Order with a fixed date – including Suspended Possession Order
- Ground Two Criminal Nuisance Order
- Bankruptcy Order
- Demotion Order
Exceptions to the Preserved Right to Buy
Some homes, Trent & Dove cannot sell under the Preserved Right to Buy, for example, certain dwelling-houses for persons of pensionable age.
The exceptions are listed in the Housing Act 1985.
Discount
The Preserved Right to Buy entitles you to a discount on the market value of your home.
The longer you have been a customer, the more discount you are eligible to receive.
The maximum discount for homes in the East Midlands is £24,000 and for homes in the West Midlands is £26,000.
Discount Calculation for Preserved Right to Buy
If you live in a house
Trent & Dove customers receive 35% discount increasing by 1% for each year of tenancy beyond 5 years up to a maximum of 70%.
If you live in a flat
Customers receive 50% discount increasing by 2% for each year of tenancy beyond 5 years up to a maximum of 70%.
Right to Acquire
You can apply for the Right to Acquire if you are a customer and have been in social housing for over 3 years AND your home was built or bought by Trent & Dove after 31 March 1997 (and funded through a social housing grant) or transferred from a local council to Trent & Dove after 31 March 1997.
Exceptions to the Right to Acquire
Some homes Trent & Dove cannot sell under the Right to Acquire. For example:
- Homes in a rural area (we will confirm whether your home is in a rural area on application).
- The home was built using only Trent & Dove funding (no grant was received).
- Certain dwelling-houses for persons of pensionable age.
The exceptions are listed in the Housing (Right to Acquire) Regulations 1997).
Discount
The discount is £9,000 and does not increase depending on how long you have been a customer of Trent & Dove or any other social landlord.
Valuation
We will instruct an independent valuer who will visit your home.
Instructing a solicitor
You will need a solicitor to act on your behalf in connection with the purchase. You will be responsible for the solicitor fees and any disbursements.
Repairs & maintenance
Whilst there is an active Preserved Right to Buy or Right to Acquire application you will only receive essential repairs and essential structural or safety works.
How do I buy my home?
For Preserved Right to Buy or Right to Acquire applications
Please call us 01283 528528 or email hello@trentanddove.org to start this process.
For buying your Shared Ownership home or “Staircasing”
Please apply via our portal.
Contact details
The mobile telephone number and email address you use to apply on the portal must match what we currently have for you on our database, otherwise you will not gain portal access. Please contact us to make sure that we have your correct mobile number and email address.
Once you have submitted your details, you will receive an invitation email. If you do not receive an invitation email within 24 hours, please inform us.
Your responsibilities
Freehold homes: You will be responsible for repairs and alterations. You may be liable for service charges.
Leasehold homes: Service charges may apply.
Flats/apartments: We are responsible for repairing the structure and outside of your flat and the building. This includes routine repairs, maintenance and major maintenance and refurbishment works (for example, repairing the roof or replacing windows).
Leaseholders will be required to pay a proportion of the costs.
We advise that you seek qualified independent advice to understand the responsibilities and obligations when purchasing a leasehold property.
Buying your Shared Ownership home
You can buy further shares in your home at any time. This is known as ‘staircasing’ where you buy additional shares and pay less rent. The rent is calculated on the share you do not own.
How much of my home can I buy?
If the shared ownership lease was provided before or through the Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016 to 2021, you cannot buy less than 10%. If the Shared Ownership lease was funded through Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026, you can buy at least 5%. For the first 15 years after you become a Shared Owner you can purchase 1%.
We advise you to instruct a solicitor to buy 5% or more and that you obtain quotations for the legal costs involved.
Some homes cannot be purchased outright (freehold) even if you do staircase to 100% including:
- Older persons shared ownership leases, for example Chestnut Grange.
- Rural Restricted Staircasing schemes and
- Designated Protected Area schemes (DPA)
You will have been advised when you bought your home if any of the above apply.
Homes in DPA have some key differences to normal shared ownership to ensure that the homes remain as affordable housing.
Valuation
The price paid for additional shares in all staircasing transactions except the 1% per year option is based on the full open-market value of the home as provided by an independent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuer.
For 1% staircasing transactions the valuation is calculated from the Land Registry’s House Price Index and is also known as a Portioned Percentage Valuation.
Valuation Fee
A valuation fee is payable by you (no charge for a 1% staircase). The valuation is valid for a period of 3 months from the date of the valuation.
Other charges payable on completion of the staircase
You will need to pay any arrears of rent and any other sums due to us under this Lease, including any unpaid costs. The Landlord and the Leaseholder shall pay their own costs and expenses in connection with such payment or purchase.
Please email sharedownership@trentanddove.org for more information.