The “Right to Buy” was first introduced to Scotland in 1980.  The legislation has undergone a number of changes in the intervening period, but essentially the right of sitting tenants to buy their council or housing association home at a discounted rate, based on the number of years they have been a tenant, still exists across the country.

Not every tenant has the right to buy their home  – it depends on who their landlord is and when their tenancy began.  To help tenants determine whether they have the right to buy their Atrium property, we operate a pre-application advice interview.  This interview takes around 15-20 minutes and is designed not only to establish whether the tenant has the Right to Buy, but also helps identify some of the hidden costs of home-ownership such as buildings insurance, mortgage insurance, maintenance and repairs costs and common charges of which first-time buyers may be unaware. 

If a tenant is assessed as having the Right to Buy and wishes to proceed, he will be issued the prescribed application form.  We will also explain the need for them to find a solicitor to handle the acquisition and if necessary a bank or building society to lend the money.

Within 2 months of a valid application being received, Atrium will issue an Offer to Sell, detailing the independent valuation of the property, the level of discount entitlement (based on the length of their qualifying tenancies) and of course the purchase cost.  The tenant then has 2 months in which to accept the offer to sell at which point a valid contract will have been concluded.  If the tenant does not accept within 2 months, the original offer to sell lapses and a fresh application may be required to begin the process again.  In the majority of cases, the deal is completed with the tenant becoming an owner, within 26 weeks of the date a valid application is submitted.