Whilst most of our properties are to rent, there are some opportunities to buy a home, or own part of it. (See our Shared Ownership page).

Customers who were secure tenants of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council at the time of transfer of the council’s properties to Freebridge on 3rd April 2006, and have remained Freebridge customers since then keep the right to buy their homes. This is known as the preserved Right to Buy.

The maximum Right to Buy discount for this region is £102,400

There are a small number of properties which are exempt from Right to Buy, meaning even if you have the right to buy, it isn’t possible to buy it. We can let you know if this applies to your home.

This is a restriction placed on the Title as explained below. 

When a property in a rural area is sold under the Right to Buy, a restriction is imposed under s.157 of the Housing Act 1985 which prohibits the subsequent sale of the property to a subsequent purchaser who has not lived and/or worked within the Borough of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk for at least three years. If there is more than one purchaser only one of them has to satisfy this requirement. 

Evidence of residence or working within the Borough of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk or County of Norfolk as appropriate. This can be a copy of Council Tax statements/Bank statements/Utility bills/letter of confirmation from employer/pay slips or other similar documents. We need one from around three years ago and one within the last three months. 

Please send us this information to [email protected] including the address of the property in question.

You may share the Right to Buy with up to three family members over the age of 18. They must be a spouse, civil partner, or wider family member. Wider family members must have also lived in the property as their main home for at least the last 12 months

You will need to provide information for our identity checks.

For full details on exactly who can apply and how you can start the process either take a look at our leaflet or call us on 03332 404444 and ask for a paper copy.

Customers who were not a tenant of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council at the time of transfer will not have the right to buy. But you may have the right to acquire.

If you have been a public sector (housing association or local authority) tenant for three years or more and part of that time was with another local authority, we will contact you within eight weeks to let you know if your application has been accepted or denied.

The Right to Acquire discount for this region is £9,000.

If your property is in a designated rural area, you will not be able to use your Right to Acquire. Please see the Statutory Instrument (Page 12), to find out if your home is in a designated rural area.

If it is not then you can find additional information and the application form on the Gov.uk website.

Please note with every Right to Buy and Right to Acquire application, in order to prevent fraud, we need to carry out identity and residency checks.

Further guidance about Right to Buy/Acquire can be found on the Gov.uk website.

If you resell or dispose of the property within 10 years of purchasing the property, Freebridge Community Housing have the first right of refusal. 

You will be required to offer the property back to Freebridge at full market value and if your offer has not been accepted within 8 weeks, you will be free to sell the property on the open market.

If you buy the dwelling at the discounted price, the conveyance will contain a covenant that the discount will be repayable by you, wholly or proportionately, if you dispose of the property within five years from the date of conveyance or lease to you.

The amount of discount to be repaid if you sell within 5 years of purchase will be a percentage of the resale value of the property, disregarding the value of any improvements. 

The discount repayable by you is reduced by one-fifth for each year that passes after the purchase.

If you decide to sell your property or make alterations, you may require our permission.  If you do require our permission we will require you to pay our administration costs.  Please check your Conveyance/Transfer/Lease for details. If your property is leasehold please see the leasehold section of this website.

Administration costs are owed by the requesting party to Freebridge Community Housing Limited for carrying out the requested work. Prices stated are for administration fees only and do not include any premium chargeable for Property or Deeds. 

These fees are solely for the work carried out by Freebridge Community Housing Limited and do not include the requesting parties own legal fees.  Please consult your own solicitor to discuss their fees. 

From time to time, we also have Shared Ownership properties where customers can buy a share or rent to buy a property - you can find out more information and the properties available here.