can you privately buy a council house

squinty

I cannot see how this can be an illegal practice - you bought your home at a discount from the council. Under the governments rules if you sell a property within the first 5 years you need to repay some or all of the discount.

You would have been aware of this before you bought the property, and this is very clear in all government guidance. For example, the governments own leaflet.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/138178.pdf

Why do you think that other council rent payers should give you £30k?

madmackhunter

Thats not the case-i had to move because of personal circumstances i.e health.
they took no notice of the mitigating circumstances,have rang today a local authority ombudsman.
from what i can gather they have told me questions have to be asked.
i have to re-open complaints process.
its not just about the money its the principle,and shambolic way my original complaint was handled.

madmackhunter

i dont like your attitude squinty at all-i only raised this issue as it was announced on a radio phone in a few months ago.
in future keep your unwelcome comments to yourself thanks.
im not a money grabber i just want justice as we all do.

ILW

madmackhunter wrote: »

im not a money grabber i just want justice as we all do.

Just out of interest, are you willing to accept what you actually paid for the house, or do you want more?

Running_Horse

madmackhunter wrote: »

in future keep your unwelcome comments to yourself thanks.

If you don't want unwelcome comments about your life, don't air it on a public forum.

madmackhunter

ILW
All i want is a decent hearing,ill even donate most if given back to a homeless charity!!
im not selfish,but there is no clauses for mitigating circumstances.
housing ombudsman has contacted me by phone today and is quote "horrified"that i wasnt given a fair hearing.
i know of some people that have had to move because of job ect.
They are not taking circumstances into account THATS WHAT IM FIGHTING FOR

geoffky

Did you get it for say 75k and had to give the council 25k when you sold it for 75k if thats the case i think you deserve it back but if you got it for 75k and sold it for 100k and had to give it back 25k well you new the rules....

squinty

madmackhunter wrote: »

i dont like your attitude squinty at all-i .

That’s a shame, as you don’t like people providing factual information you will probably really hate this post.

Looking at this from a different perspective.

You were a secure council tenant. You decided to take the riskier route of buying your council property. This is riskier because you need to do repairs, if you cannot work you cannot claim housing benefit to pay you housing cost etc. This was your choice.

When you bought the property it was valued, and your were entitled to a discount linked to the length of time you had been a tenant. For example the house was valued at £120k with a 25% discount of £30k – you in effect paid £90k for a house that is worth £120k.

Some time later you had a change in circumstances and had to leave the property (you have said this was for health difficulties – I assume that you chose not to take an insurance based product to provide a safety net in such circumstances).

When you sold the property (assuming you bought before January 2005) you were required under the terms of the scheme to pay back some or all of the discount. So, in my example, you sold for £130k you were required to pay back some or all of the discount (depending on how long since you purchased the property). You may still have made a profit on the transaction.

It appears that the council are only claiming back the discount, which they are entitled to do.

I do not think you have any claim on the council – you chose to buy the property; you chose not to take any insurance to cover you. You are wrong to expect the council rentpayer to lose out due to your choices.

If the timescales you provided are correct, it appears that the information from the Ombudsman is also wrong. There is legislation within the 2004 Housing Act (section 185) which allows councils in exceptional circumstances to waive some or all of the repayment of discount. However, this only applies to sales that were completed after January 2005 – which does not appear to apply in your case.

Even if the sale was after the implementation date, the criteria are very tough and should only be used in exceptional circumstances, and extreme hardship. At all times the authority must be aware that this is a cost to the public purse. As you have stated that you do not need the money, and would give it to a homelessness charity this clearly cannot apply in your case.

seven-day-weekend

Agree with squinty's post.

My late m-i-l bought a place from the Council, and she (and we) always knew that if she sold it within a certain timescale, she would have to pay back the (substantial) discount she was given.

Seems fair enough to me.

madmackhunter

Alas dear old squinty the one without the facts for the awnsers!!
i bought the property for £88,000.
i sold it 6 months later for £148,000 as it had land with it and i had to pay to get covanent removed.
After i paid back the sub-prime mortgage with g-mac,i was SUPPOSED to be left with a balance of £58,000.
But £30,000 went back to the housing association FAIR ENOUGH thats the rules.
But after hearing what i heard AND the fact of what the housing ombudsman told me issues have to be looked into.
so before you go slating people get your facts right!!:mad: