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We re-checked our most-read guides against GOV.UK and the other official sources in September 2026. This one was not among them, so nobody has confirmed its figures, deadlines or process steps since it was written. Treat it as a starting point and confirm anything that matters on GOV.UK before you act on it.
Right to Buy is an England-only scheme. It was abolished in Scotland on 31 July 2016 by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, and in Wales on 26 January 2019 by the Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Act 2018. Northern Ireland has a separate House Sales Scheme. In England, an application already made does not lapse on the tenant's death: section 136 of the Housing Act 1985 provides that where a new secure tenant takes over the same tenancy, "the new tenant shall be in the same position as if the notice had been given by him and he had been the secure tenant at the time it was given". The question is therefore who qualifies to succeed to the tenancy — and for tenancies granted on or after 1 April 2012 that is a much narrower group than people expect.
When a council tenant dies partway through a Right to Buy application, the family members living in the home are often uncertain whether they can take over the process and eventually purchase the property. The answer depends on whether a qualifying family member can succeed to the tenancy — and on the precise stage the application had reached at the time of death. This guide sets out the rules and the practical steps involved.
The Right to Buy scheme, established under the Housing Act 1985, gives secure council tenants in England the right to purchase their home at a discount after three years as a public sector tenant. The discount is 35% for a house (rising 1% for each year beyond five) and 50% for a flat (rising 2% for each year beyond five), up to a regional cash cap.
The discount caps were cut sharply on 21 November 2024
For applications made on or after that date the maximum discount is a regional figure between £16,000 and £38,000 — £22,000 in the North East, £26,000 in the North West and West Midlands, £24,000 in Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands, £34,000 in the East (£16,000 in Watford), £38,000 in the South East (£16,000 in several named districts), £30,000 in the South West, and £16,000 in London (£38,000 in Barking and Dagenham and in Havering). Applications made before 21 November 2024 use the old caps of £136,400 in a London borough and £102,400 outside London. Check the current figures on gov.uk before relying on any of them.
The right belongs to the secure tenancy, not to the property and not to the estate. It is often said that the application dies with the tenant. That is the wrong way round. Section 136(1) of the Housing Act 1985 provides that where a secure tenant has given notice claiming the right to buy and another person becomes the secure tenant under the same tenancy, "the new tenant shall be in the same position as if the notice had been given by him and he had been the secure tenant at the time it was given". A successor inherits the claim, at the stage it had reached.
If no application had been made at the date of death, a successor tenant who meets the eligibility criteria can apply in their own right instead. Either way, everything turns on the succession.
Succession to a secure tenancy is governed by sections 87 to 90 of the Housing Act 1985 — but the rules changed for tenancies granted on or after 1 April 2012, when section 160 of the Localism Act 2011 took effect. Which set applies depends on when the tenancy was granted, so this is the first thing to establish.
Tenancies granted before 1 April 2012 carry the wider statutory rules:
"Family member" is defined broadly in the Housing Act 1985 and includes children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and step-relations. It also includes a person who lived with the tenant as a couple (whether same-sex or opposite-sex) for at least 12 months before the death.
Tenancies granted on or after 1 April 2012 are narrower. Under section 160 of the Localism Act 2011, the statutory right to succeed belongs only to a spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner who was occupying the property as their only or principal home at the time of death. Other family members — a child, parent, sibling and so on — have no statutory right to succeed to such a tenancy. They may still be able to succeed if the tenancy agreement itself gives them the right, or under a landlord's discretionary policy, which many councils operate. Read the tenancy agreement and ask the council for its succession policy in writing.
One succession only:
There is no statutory second succession. If the deceased had themselves inherited the tenancy from a parent or other relative, nobody living in the property has a statutory right to succeed, and the landlord can seek possession. Some councils operate a discretionary policy that goes further than the statute, so ask for it in writing rather than assuming. Either way, check the tenancy history before assuming succession is possible.
The discount depends on how long the buyer has been a public sector tenant. Which earlier periods a successor may count is set out in Schedule 4 to the Housing Act 1985, and it is not simply a carry-over of the deceased's whole tenancy in every case, so ask the council to confirm in writing which periods it is counting and what discount percentage that produces.
There is also a hard deadline, and it is the one most likely to catch a family out. Section 136(2) provides that where the council has already served a section 125 notice (the formal notice of purchase price and terms), the new tenant must serve a notice of intention under section 125D within twelve weeks of becoming the secure tenant — or, where a district valuer determination has been sought, within twelve weeks of that event if it is later. Find out first whether a section 125 notice was served, and on what date.
Write to the council's housing department promptly, providing evidence of your relationship to the deceased and — if the tenancy was granted before 1 April 2012 — of your 12-month residence. Ask them to confirm in writing whether succession is accepted and what happens to any existing Right to Buy application.
If the Right to Buy purchase had progressed to the point where solicitors were involved and the legal process was underway — but contracts had not yet exchanged — the estate and the council find themselves in a somewhat uncertain position. In this scenario:
Where contracts had already exchanged and only completion was outstanding at the time of death, the position turns on the contract itself and on who now holds the tenancy, and it is beyond what a general guide can settle. Free housing advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice, and the conveyancing solicitors already instructed will hold the contract documents.
This rule applies not when a tenant dies during the application process, but when a property has already been purchased under Right to Buy and the owner then dies. Under the Housing Act 1985, if a property purchased through Right to Buy is sold within five years of completion, the seller must repay a proportion of the discount to the council.
The repayment is calculated on a sliding scale:
A second, longer restriction runs alongside it and is easy to miss. GOV.UK puts it plainly: “If you sell your home within 10 years of buying it through Right to Buy, you must first offer it to either your old landlord [or] another social landlord in the area.” The landlord has eight weeks to decide, after which the property can be sold to anyone. So a sale in years six to ten repays no discount but may still need the offer-back step. GOV.UK does not say in terms whether that applies to a sale by an estate, so ask the former landlord before marketing the property rather than finding out at exchange.
If the property is sold as part of an estate administration within five years of the Right to Buy purchase, the discount repayment obligation will apply to the sale proceeds and must be settled from the estate. Executors should check the completion date of any Right to Buy purchase and calculate whether this liability exists before distributing the estate.
Transfer to a family member does not trigger repayment:
Transferring the property to a qualifying family member under a will or intestacy does not in itself trigger the discount repayment obligation. It is only when the property is sold that the five-year clock matters. However, if the family member who inherits then sells within the five-year window, the repayment falls on them as the seller. Executors should make beneficiaries aware of this restriction.
If you are a family member living in a council property where the tenant has died, take the following steps without delay:
The rules around succession and Right to Buy are technical, and whether you have a statutory right at all turns on the date the tenancy was granted and on whether it has been succeeded to before. If the council says there is no right of succession, ask which provision it is relying on and for a copy of its discretionary policy. Free specialist housing advice is available from Shelter and from Citizens Advice.
Right to Buy no longer exists in Scotland or Wales, so nothing on this page applies to a council tenancy there.
Succession to the tenancy itself is a different question and is still possible in all four nations, under each nation's own rules. What has gone in Scotland and Wales is the right to buy the property.
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