Right to Buy
Last updated | 24/04/2007
As a result of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, substantial changes were made to the right to buy (RTB). These changes came into force on 30th September 2002.
The most important changes are to the terms and conditions attached to the right to buy, including changes to the initial qualifying period and to the way in which entitlement to discount is calculated. there have also been changes to the types of houses which cannot be purchased through the right to buy and to the procedures involved. These changes are known as the 'modernised right to buy'.
Some of the changes will apply to all tenants applying to buy their house from 30th September 2002. For example, the new requirement to show that you have no arrears of rent or council tax. Whether the key changes relating to discount entitlement and qualifying period apply however, depends on whether your present tenancy started before 30th September 2002, and whether that tenancy allowed you to exercise the right to buy.
As a general rule, if your current tenancy commenced before 30th September 2002 and it allowed you to exercise the right to buy, the old terms and conditions will continue to apply for as long as you remain in that tenancy. However, with some limited exceptions, if your tenancy started on or after 30th September 2002, the new terms and conditions associated with the modernised right to buy will apply.
