Trying to buy council house but been refused

TylerDurden36

Hi. Looking for any advice on this or if anyone else has had a similar issue. My mum currently rents a bungalow from the council. She is wanting to purchase the bungalow but the council say she cannot. I have done a count of all the bungalows that have been sold in the area and there have been at least 7 sold. Surely if the council have sold those bungalows to people then they can’t refuse my mum? That would be discriminatory against my mum wouldn’t it?

Thanks for any help.

Grumpelstiltskin

Have they given her a reason for the refusal?

If it's a retirement only then I suspect they can't sell it.

theartfullodger

Which country?  (Wales, NI...?). Some are removing this privilege.

What does that council's website state on the matter, please?

TylerDurden36

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Have they given her a reason for the refusal?

If it's a retirement only then I suspect they can't sell it.

Hi. They gave 2 reasons. One was because she’s 68 and you can only buy up to 60 but that’s got to wrong because you’re not allowed to even apply for one of these bungalows until you’re 60. 

The second was because it’s a warden controlled area. But again this seems wrong because all the other bungalows that have been sold are also in the warden controlled area.

TylerDurden36

theartfullodger said:

Which country?  (Wales, NI...?). Some are removing this privilege.

What does that council's website state on the matter, please?

Hi. It’s in England.

Caz3121

https://www.gov.uk/right-to-buy-buying-your-council-home/appeals

You can appeal to a tribunal if you’re stopped from buying your home because it’s suitable for housing elderly people.

You must appeal within 56 days of the council turning down your application.

980233

Why does your mum want the hassle of buying at her age? 

Is it because you hope to gain from it further down the line?

TBagpuss

I don't think that the fact that others have been sold would automatically mean that they are discriminating if your mum can't - policies and rules may have changes, r there may have always been a policy that a proportion had to remain in public ownership so once the cap was reached on the number sold, that was it. (its also possible that there is or was a mixture of council and non council homes from the start.

There is no automatic right to buy if your home is one  designed for elderly or disabled tenants. If your mum wants to pursuit then she can apply to a tribunal - however, it would be sensible for her first to take advise from a specialist as to her prospects of success. 

If she wants to own and is in a position to buy, perhaps she could wait until one of the ones previously sold comes onto the market, then buy at market value and free up the council property for someone in greater need? 

elsien

Perhaps they’ve realised that having sold off others, they now have insufficient left and want to keep them for people who really need them both now and in the future? 

ETA, you’ve previously said you have power of attorney for your mother due to her poor health. On that basis, you may want to consider how losing a secure tenancy to get a mortgage and ongoing maintenance costs is in her best interests rather than in the interests of anyone who’s got their eye on a large council discount. 

TylerDurden36

Thanks for the replies. Looking further into it it would be an absolute nightmare trying to fight the council. Spoke to a solicitor and they want £200 an hour to even look at it.

Just a case of tough luck. Should have got in earlier. One of the bungalows down the road sold for £130,000 a few months ago. They will have made at least £70,000 on that.

No council properties should have ever been made available to buy from the start. It’s part of the reason why so many people are without homes now. 50% discount on bungalows and a 35% discount on houses. People just took advantage of it and made a fortune.

My girlfriend has just bought an ex council house for £200,000. I looked on Zoopla and that house was bought for £55,000 just 10 years ago. Absolutely ridiculous!

Anyway that’s a bit of a rant so thanks for the replies on the subject at hand.

TripleH

I think our old landlord paid £180,000 for an ex-council 2 bed duplex flat in 2011 in zone 1 (south of the river). It needed fully refurbishing and they had to pay about £50,000 when extensive refurbishment works were undertaken on the building.

We would have happily stayed there in the block but renting was not a realistic long-term goal. Think there were 30 odd flats and 4 were privately owned.