With the Brexit debate dominating our news headlines for the past few months, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is the most important legal matter of the year. A ‘leave’ vote will end an historic Tory legislative milestone – membership of the European Union.  However, in Scotland, there is another very important piece of Conservative legislation which is ending this year – the Right to Buy your Local Authority property.

You could be forgiven for thinking that this is not immediately pressing for your average tenant, as there is the commonly-held misconception that all Local Authorities have a blanket ban on the sale of their properties. But, there are still a good percentage of tenants able to take advantage of this opportunity.

The Right to Buy your Local Authority property ends on 1^st August 2016.  Therefore, all applications have to be submitted to the relevant Council by 31^st July, 2016 for their consideration, as this is the end date for the notice period.  The usual criteria apply for being eligible to purchase your home, the main one being that you must have had a tenancy since at least 1st March, 2011, as after that date, no tenant has the right to buy the property from the Local Authority.

There is also a throw away comment at the end of the Right to Buy Regulations.  This states that the Council may still consider selling to tenants after the appointed end date, but this is entirely at their discretion and it would be at full market value, without a discount.  So if you cannot fund a purchase prior to the end date, there is always the potential for an extension, but this is in no way guaranteed.

As mentioned above, should you or a family member wish to exercise this right, or if you wish to assist by partially or wholly funding such a purchase, we can help draft the necessary documentation, and provide the certainty and peace of mind that there is a binding legal obligation on all parties, which cannot be opted out of.  This protects both the owner, and the lender, equally.

Should you have any queries please contact our Jamie L. Robertson, on 01224 581581 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., who will be happy to assist.