Right to Buy Reforms to Bring Longer Waits and Lower Discounts for Tenants
The Right to Buy scheme is set for its biggest shake-up in years, with new rules that will make it harder—and slower—for council tenants in England to purchase their homes. From 2026, people will need to have lived in their property for a decade before qualifying, and the discounts on offer will be smaller than before.
The reforms follow a public consultation and are expected to come into effect from 2026.
Tenants will need to wait longer – and get less
One of the biggest changes is the length of time tenants must live in their council home before they’re eligible to buy it. That period will rise from the current three years to ten years, meaning fewer tenants will qualify in the short term.
Discounts are also being scaled back. Under the new rules, eligible tenants will receive 5% off the market value after 10 years, increasing gradually to a maximum of 15%. That’s well below the current potential discount of up to 70%.
The aim is to make the scheme more sustainable and reduce the rate at which social homes are lost—something councils have long warned is making it harder to meet local housing need.
New homes protected from quick resale
To give local authorities more confidence when building new social housing, the Government plans to exclude newly built homes from Right to Buy for 35 years. This is designed to prevent brand new homes being sold off too quickly after construction.
There will also be tougher rules around resales. Councils will be able to reclaim some or all of the original discount if a property is resold within 10 years, doubling the current five-year window. They’ll also keep first refusal indefinitely, giving them the chance to buy back homes if owners decide to sell later on.
More funding for replacements
Replacing homes sold through Right to Buy has been a sticking point for years, with many councils struggling to match the pace of sales. Under the new plans, from 2026–27 councils will be allowed to keep 100% of the proceeds from Right to Buy sales, and combine them with government grant funding to build new homes.
The current one-for-one replacement target—often seen as unworkable—will be dropped. Instead, councils will be expected to aim higher, with encouragement to deliver more than one replacement for every home sold where possible.
What’s next?
While no fixed date has been set for the changes to begin (at time of writing this blog post), the measures have been broadly welcomed by councils and housing groups. Many say the shift offers a more realistic approach to balancing the rights of tenants with the urgent need to maintain and expand the UK’s affordable housing stock.
More detail is expected later this year, including on how fraud prevention and support for vulnerable tenants will be strengthened under the revised scheme.