Detailed information on the scheme is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government - Your right to buy your home website. We can send you a booklet with this information if you prefer.

Steps to buying your council home

Step 1 - complete and return an RTB1 application form

We use this form to decide whether you have the Right to Buy and how much discount you get. You can get one of these from the Housing Reception in the City Finance Centre or the Acomb Housing Office. Alternatively, contact us to have one posted to you.

Step 2 - we check and acknowledge your application

We will send you a notice (form RTB2) telling you whether you have the Right to Buy. We send you this within four weeks of receiving your application, or within eight weeks if you have been a tenant with City of York council for less than two years.

If we do not send you this notice within the time scale above, you may be allowed a reduction in the purchase price. To get this reduction, you first need to fill in an initial notice of delay (form RTB6) and send it to us. These forms are available from the Right to Buy administrator.

If you do not have the Right to Buy we will explain why. If you don't agree with this explanation, you can get advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau or from a solicitor.

If you are still not satisfied, you can write to the Department for Communities and Local Government or the Housing Corporation. Addresses for these organisations are included on the Department for Communities and Local Government - Housing website.

Step 3 - offer notice (Section 125 notice)

If we agree to sell you your home we will send you a separate offer notice. This is called a Section 125 notice. This tells you the price you have to pay and the terms and conditions of the sale.

We are allowed up to 12 weeks to issue the offer notice for houses and up to 16 weeks if your property is a flat or maisonette.

If we do not send you the offer notice within the time scale allowed you can serve a delay notice.

The Section 125 notice is an important document and you should read it carefully.

It tells you five main things:

• It describes the property you have the Right to Buy.
• It tells you the price we think you should pay for it. We calculate this by working out how much your home was worth at the date you submitted your application form, and then take off your discount. If you have made improvements, these are not allowed to put the price up. If your discount is reduced by the cash limit or the cost floor, the notice must say so.
• It gives estimates of the service charges or improvement costs you will have to pay if you buy your home. This is usually only if you live in a flat.
• It describes any structural defects we know about.
• The terms and conditions we think should be attached to the sale.These may be either a draft of the legal document or part of the notice, or on a separate sheet. Your solicitor will probably want to see these documents.

Step 4 - appealing to the District Valuer

If you think the full market price quoted in your Section 125 notice is too high you have the right to request an independent valuation from the District Valuer.

You must write to tell us you have decided to do this within three months of receiving the Section 125 notice. You must state that you want 'a determination of value' under Section 128 of the Housing Act 1985. Then you have four weeks to put your case to the District Valuer who will need to inspect your home.

The District Valuer's valuation will be the one that counts even if it is higher than ours. You will have to accept it or withdraw your application to buy your home.

There is no charge for this service.

Step 5 - other Section 125 questions

If you want to question other things in the notice such as the size of the discount, conditions of sale, your home's boundaries etc. you should contact us. If you disagree with our response you have the right to go to the county court for a ruling. This can be expensive. You should get legal advice first.

If you are buying a flat, you may find The Leasehold Advisory Service website of interest.

The Department for Communities and Local Government also produces two booklets, Thinking of Buying a Council Flat, and Residential Long Leaseholders. These will usually be sent with the Offer Notice but can be obtained in advance from the Right to Buy Administrator or from the Department for Communities and Local Government website

Step 6 - getting a survey

Before you finally decide to buy you should get an independent survey from a qualified surveyor. Your bank or building society will have a survey done when you apply for a mortgage but this is only to value your home. It may not uncover structural problems and you may want to pay for a more detailed survey.

Step 7- getting legal advice

Before you decide to buy you should get legal advice. If you don't know a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer your bank or building society may have a list. We will send a list and the Reference library also has a list of solicitors in the York area and the type of work they do. You should always ask how much advice will cost before employing a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer.
Step 8 - telling us what you want to do next

You have a lot of choices to make at this stage. You now must decide if you want to -

• buy your home outright for the full Right to Buy price, less any discount you are entitled to; or
• not buy, withdraw your application and carry on paying rent.

If you are proceeding with your purchase you should write to advise us within 12 weeks of getting your S125 notice. If you decide on a redetermination of value (by the District Valuer) again you should write to us within 12 weeks of getting the offer notice.

If you do not let us know your decision within 12 weeks we will send you a reminder. If you do not reply within 28 days we will assume you don't want to buy and will not take your application any further. If you're not able to decide within the time limit you can ask us to wait a bit longer for your reply. If you're unable to decide for a good reason, such as you were in hospital, you should tell us and your time limit can be extended. If you are proceeding we cannot send the nex reminder within 12 months of the offer notice. This is called a section 140 notice.

You can still change your mind at this stage. You don't have to buy your home because you told us you want to. If you don't tell us what you want to do, we assume you don't want to buy and will cancel your application. You will have to start again and if the value of your home has gone up in the meantime you will have to pay the higher price.

If you apply for RTB after 18 January 2005 we can send the section 140 ntoice three months after the offer notice.

Step 9 - finding a mortgage

You should talk to a bank or building society if you need a mortgage. They may charge for arranging a mortgage and also for the mortgage valuation survey.

Other useful sources of mortgage information are the Financial Services Authority website and the Council of Mortgage Lenders website.

Step 10 - completing the purchase

If you're happy with our terms and have arranged to raise the money you are ready to go ahead and buy. Let us know and ask your solicitor for advice on the legal documents and making your payment. It should be a matter of weeks to become the home owner if there are no unforseen problems.

You can take all the time you reasonably need to get a mortgage or legal advice. You can also take your time to agree the terms of the sale with us.

However, if we don't hear from you for a long time you may get a warning notice (S140). This will ask you to either complete the purchase within eight weeks or to write and tell us that you disagree with the terms of the sale. If you don't reply we will send you a second notice (S141) asking you to complete the purchase. If you don't complete or respond to this final notice your application is cancelled.

If you applied before 18 January 2005 we will not send you a warning notice until at least 12 months after your Section 125 notice. It's best if you or your solicitor let us know throughout the process how you are progressing with raising the money or any other issues that may delay the purchase.

If you apply for RTB after 18 January 2005 we can send a reminder notice (S140) three months after the offer notice.