With over 2 million homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme since it began in 1980, the Government announced on 28th April 2026 that it will further overhaul the current scheme, following on from the consultation last year, with the aim of protecting and rebuilding social housing stock while still offering a limited route to homeownership for long-term tenants.

The proposed changes are expected to take effect later in 2026/27, “when Parliamentary time allows”, and will apply to council tenants and tenants of housing associations who have the Right to Buy (RTB). Whilst the Preserved Right to Buy (PRTB) is not referred to explicitly, it has been the approach of the Government to apply any changes to the RTB to the PRTB, so when this note refers to RTB that applies to both the RTB and the PRTB.  

Changes are to include:

• Eligibility period extended dramatically — Tenants must now have been a public sector tenant for 10 years (instead of the current three years) before they can apply to buy their council home.
• Much smaller discounts will start at 5% of the property’s market value and increase by 1% per additional year of tenancy.
• Maximum discounts to be capped at 15% of the property value or the regional cash cap (whichever is lower). The current maximum percentage discount is 70% of the market value.
• New-build exemption — Newly built social homes will be exempt from the RTB for 35 years after construction with the aim of protecting new supply.

Other supporting measures include:

• Councils to keep 100% of sale proceeds to help fund replacement homes. (No longer limited to 30–40%).
• The repayment period (if the buyer sells the property soon after buying) is being extended beyond the current 5 years.
• The “cost floor” protection (preventing sales below build/repair costs) has already been extended to 30 years.

These proposals are in addition to changes in November 2024, where discounts were significantly reduced to between £16,000 and £38,000, depending on region (higher in some high-value areas like London). This replaced the previous much higher caps (up to £102,400 outside London and £136,400 in London).

The November 2024 discount cuts led to a spike in RTB applications in late 2024/early 2025 as tenants tried to beat the deadline. Current situation (as of April 2026): the old rules (3-year eligibility + higher discounts) still technically apply until the new legislation passes and comes into force. However, with the discount cuts already active and the new reforms confirmed, the scheme is becoming far less generous overall and a second spike of RTB applications is expected later in 2026 when the public becomes more aware of the incoming legislative changes.