Do you want to sell your former council property?
We have a buy back scheme that you could use that depends on the funding we have available at the time of enquiring.
We make competitive offers subject to an independent valuation.
The condition of your property will be taken into consideration for the valuation.
The process for selling a property to us is similar to selling on the open market.
We get a huge amount of enquiries about the scheme and we are not able to buy all of the properties that we are offered.
If your property meets our requirements in principle, an initial valuation survey will be undertaken by an independent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited surveyor and we will inform you of the purchase price if we wish to purchase.
Please note we are not obliged to purchase your property, however, if the property was sold under the Right to Buy less than 10 years ago we do have a legal first right of refusal.
Benefits of selling to Havering
- We pay full market value
- No chain
- Hassle free
- No estate agent fees
- More security than selling on the open market
- No viewings need to be undertaken
Main criteria
- Property needs to meet with our current funding requirements
- There is demand for the type and size of property in the area
- Property has been previously owned by Havering
- It would represent value for money to the Council
- Seller will be liable for their own legal fees
Properties we want
Properties we're looking for are:
- 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms properties
- being sold with vacant possession
- are ones we hold the freehold on already or the freehold comes with the sale
We’ll assess properties on our housing needs and how affordable they are before committing to buy them.
Service charges and any outstanding and proposed major works that you have been notified of will need to be paid before completion.
Right of first refusal
If you purchased your property under the right to buy and wish to sell it within the first 10 years, your lease states that you must first offer it back to the council to purchase, under the first right of refusal.
Having a right of first refusal does not mean that we will proceed with the purchase, however we must be offered the opportunity to do so.
The decision on whether or not we wish to proceed will depend on the availability of funding.
If you wish to sell your property within the first 5 years, you will have to repay some or all of the discount.
How to apply
If you are interested in taking part in the scheme please complete our ask housing form and select 'Other - General enquiry' from the dropdown options when asked.
Our buyback team will then acknowledge your form and may contact you for additional information.
We will then contact you within with a decision confirming if we wish to consider your property for purchase.
If you would like further information on the scheme contact the buyback team on buyback@havering.gov.uk
Funding for this scheme
The buy back programme is being funded by a successful bid by us that secured £23.985million which is aimed at increasing affordable housing in the borough.
This funding will enable us to purchase additional council homes, addressing the urgent need for quality family-sized housing in our community.
The Council Homes Acquisition Programme funding is part of a broader Greater London Authority (GLA) initiative announced in 2023 to tackle the housing crisis.
The programme is designed to provide safe, secure and affordable homes for families, individuals and vulnerable groups within the borough.