Not every mortgage lender offers Right to Buy mortgages. The ones that do set their own rules about how much they will lend, whether they will accept your discount in place of a cash deposit, and what they need to see from your income and credit history. Knowing which lenders are open to Right to Buy, and what each of them is looking for, is most of the work.
Which lenders offer Right to Buy mortgages?
Right to Buy lending falls into three broad groups.
High street banks and larger building societies. Several of the household names will consider Right to Buy, and their rates are usually the most competitive. In return they tend to want a straightforward case: stable employed income, a clean or near clean credit file, and a property type they are comfortable with.
Regional and smaller building societies. These lenders more often assess an application by hand rather than by scorecard, so they can take a view on circumstances that an automated decision would decline. They are frequently the answer for older applicants, unusual employment, or ex local authority flats.
Specialist lenders. These exist for the cases the first two groups turn down: recent credit problems, self employed income that is harder to evidence, or a construction type most lenders avoid. Rates are higher, and the usual plan is to remortgage away once the case looks more straightforward.
There is no published list of who currently lends on Right to Buy, and lender appetite changes from month to month. That is the practical reason to speak to a broker who places these cases regularly, rather than applying to your own bank and hoping.
Can I use my discount as my deposit?
Usually, yes. Most Right to Buy lenders treat the discount as your deposit and will consider lending up to 100% of the discounted purchase price. That is what makes Right to Buy one of the very few routes into ownership that does not depend on having savings.
An example. Your council home is valued at £180,000 and you qualify for the maximum discount available across the East of England, currently £34,000, so your purchase price is £146,000. A lender that accepts the discount as your deposit could consider a mortgage of up to £146,000, with no cash deposit needed for the purchase itself.
Two things to keep in mind. Not every lender will go to 100% of the discounted price, and some cap it lower. And you will still need money for the costs around the purchase: a survey, legal fees, and possibly a lender or broker fee.
What Right to Buy lenders look for
Affordability. The mortgage still has to be affordable on your income, whatever the discount is worth. Lenders differ widely in how they treat overtime, benefits, pension income and second jobs, and that difference alone can change what you are able to borrow.
Credit history. A clean file gives you the widest choice. Defaults, county court judgments or missed payments do not rule you out, but they do narrow the list. Our page on Right to Buy mortgages with bad credit goes into this in more detail.
The property itself. Ex local authority flats are where a good many Right to Buy applications come unstuck, particularly in tall blocks, in blocks with a high proportion of rented flats, or where the building uses concrete or system build methods. Lenders take very different views on this, and it is worth checking before you apply rather than after a valuation.
Term and age. Many Right to Buy applicants have been tenants for a long time and are buying later in life. Maximum age at the end of the mortgage term varies a great deal between lenders, and it is often the detail that decides where a case can go.
The valuation and the discounted price
Your landlord sets the purchase price from an independent valuation of the property's open market value, then applies your discount. Your lender will carry out its own valuation, and it lends against the lower of the purchase price or its own figure. If the lender's valuation comes in below the council's, the case may need reworking. Our page on how much your council house is worth explains how that figure is arrived at and what you can do if you disagree with it.
The cost floor rule
If your landlord has spent money building, buying, repairing or maintaining the property, the cost floor rule can reduce your discount or remove it altogether. The period this covers was extended from 15 years to 30 years, so it now affects far more homes than it once did. Your landlord has to tell you if the cost floor applies to your property, and it is worth asking early, because it changes the numbers before any lender is involved.
Repaying the discount if you sell
If you sell within five years you repay some or all of the discount: all of it in the first year, then 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% across years two to five. For ten years after the purchase you also have to offer the property back to your former landlord first. If they do not agree to buy it within eight weeks, you are free to sell to anyone.
Changes on the way
The government has confirmed further reform of Right to Buy through the Social Housing Bill, introduced in May 2026. The proposals include raising the minimum tenancy from three years to ten, replacing the current percentage discounts with a scale that starts at 5% and rises by 1% a year to a maximum of 15%, extending the discount repayment period from five years to ten, and giving landlords an indefinite right of first refusal. None of this is law yet, and it is not expected to take effect before late 2026 or 2027. If you are close to qualifying under the current rules, it is worth understanding where you stand.
Talk to a Right to Buy specialist
We place Right to Buy cases regularly from our offices in Ipswich, Felixstowe and Haverhill. We can tell you quickly whether the numbers work and which lenders are likely to consider you. Use our Right to Buy discount calculator to see roughly where you stand, then book a free, no obligation chat.
Discount figures and scheme rules are set by government and can change. Always confirm the current position with your landlord before you rely on it.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.