If you decide to sell your home, you need to be aware of the following:
Repayment of discount
If you bought your flat under the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme and sell the property within five years of purchase, you are required to repay the discount you were given. This is a percentage of the resale value of the property and disreguards the value of any improvements.
In the first year of the purchase, the whole discount will have to be repaid. Four fifths must be repaid in the second year, three fifths in the third year, two fifths in the fourth year and one fifth in the fifth year. After five years you will not have to repay any discount.
Leaseholders can apply to the Borough Solicitor for a waiver of the requirement to repay the discount if there are exceptional circumstances. This also applies to freeholders.
Contact the Home Ownership Unit for more details on how much discount you will have to repay.
Charges to Solicitor
We will charge your solicitor for answering any of their enquiries and providing information in connection with the sale of your flat. The fee for a standard pre-assignment/sale pack is £100.
Assignment
The buyer’s solicitor must make sure we receive a copy of the ‘Notice of Assignment’. This is the document that the buyer signs so show they have taken over the lease and they are responsible for any payments. The notice is to be served on tghe London Borough of Hounslow.
The council's legal representatives are:
Borough Solicitors
London Borough of Hounslow
The Civic Centre
88 Lampton Road
Hounslow
TW3 4DN.
DX 3505 Hounslow
Telephone: 020 8583 2041
Service Charge payments.
You must continue to pay your service charges up until the date of sale. After the sale the new lessee must pay all the service charges due, even if they relate to a period before their purchase. They will receive the credit or debit on any estimated charges that you paid.
You should make sure that your solicitor makes proper provision for any payments you have already made and any reimbursement to or from the new owner.
Buying back properties.
Neither Hounslow Homes or the London Borough of Hounslow have a policy of buying back properties sold under the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme, unless the property is part of a major redevelopment scheme. This is because there is a strong housing market in Hounslow.
If major redevelopment is going to be carried out in your area you and the other residents will be fully consulted on any plans. If your property is to be demolished, we will purchase it from you for a fair price. There may be options to purchase another property in the area or if you wish, to become a tenant on the same or a different estate. Full support, advice and moving costs would be provided.
If you have any queries about selling your property, contact the Home Ownership Unit by emailing home.ownership@hounslowhomes.org.uk
or contact us by phone on 0800 085 65 75