Buying, selling and subletting
There are two ways you can buy the lease of a council flat:
- buying the lease from the present leaseholder (if the flat has already been bought under the Right to Buy and is being sold again)
- you are currently a council tenant and living in a flat/maisonette subject to certain criteria
In both cases you should get a solicitor to act for you in buying the lease. If you are buying from the present leaseholder it is important that you know what service charges are outstanding on the property along with potential major works anticipated so that you can make sure that they are cleared before you complete the purchase.
You may have to pay some charges owed by the previous leaseholder (unless you are the first leaseholder) if they are not cleared before the purchase.
Selling your home
You can sell the property at any time. This is known as assigning the lease. If you bought your home under Right to Buy, you may need to consider if a repayment of all or part of the discount you received should you sell in the early years after your original purchase.
You must ensure that you make any prospective purchaser aware of the leasehold nature of the property and of any rules or conditions which apply, including any pending Section 20 notices issued.
Sub-letting a leasehold property
You can rent out your home to someone else, but you will remain responsible for the property. You must tell us the arrangements and give us an alternative correspondence address for you as well as details and contact numbers for your tenants in cases of emergencies.