Can't afford Right to Buy? Here's what else is out there

A Right to Buy discount only helps if you can actually carry the mortgage on the discounted price, and for plenty of council tenants the sums just don't add up. Before you shelve the idea, check the deposit point below, then look at three live alternatives in England. This is general information rather than financial advice, so get a mortgage broker to run your actual numbers.

First, check whether you need a deposit at all

Some lenders treat the Right to Buy discount itself as your deposit and will lend the full discounted price, so the real barrier might be monthly affordability rather than savings. That affordability test doesn't soften though. If the repayments don't fit your income, no discount fixes that, and that's exactly when the alternatives below start to earn their place. It's worth working out precisely what your discount comes to first, which is where our guide to how your Right to Buy valuation works comes in, then ask a broker which lenders currently accept that discount in place of cash.

Buying a slice through shared ownership

Under shared ownership you buy a share of a home, usually between 25% and 75% though 10% is possible on some homes, and pay rent to a housing association landlord on the rest. The deposit is normally 5 to 10% of your share, not the full price. On a £200,000 home, a 25% share is £50,000, so a 10% deposit is £5,000, and the mortgage itself is small enough to pass affordability on a modest income. You can buy more shares later, known as staircasing, and your rent falls as you do. Every shared ownership home is leasehold, and you'll usually pay a service charge on top, so price that in before comparing it against your Right to Buy sums.

Rent to Buy cuts your rent while you save

Rent to Buy offers working tenants in England outside London a home at a discount, normally 20% below market rent, on the idea that the saving builds your deposit. London runs its own version, called London Living Rent. This is the slow route. You stay a tenant for now, but a £200 monthly rent saving banked for five years comes to £12,000 of deposit.

The First Homes discount for first-time buyers

The First Homes scheme sells new build homes in England to first-time buyers at 30 to 50% below market value, with that discount locked into the property for whoever buys it next. You'll need a mortgage for at least half the price, and household income can't exceed £80,000, or £90,000 in London. Councils can add local rules too, such as prioritising key workers for the first three months a home is on the market. If you've never owned before, this can beat a capped Right to Buy discount on cash terms, particularly in the more expensive parts of the country.

Comparing the three alternatives

You lose nothing by waiting

Withdrawing a Right to Buy application, or never making one, costs you nothing. You stay a tenant and can apply again later once your income or the sums improve. Discounts grow with every extra year of tenancy, so a purchase that fails affordability today can pass it in three years on a bigger discount and a higher income. Check your position first with our guide to Right to Buy eligibility and discounts in 2026, and if you're a housing association tenant, read our separate article on Right to Acquire, which works differently and carries smaller discounts.

Whichever route gets you there, the legal work is still a normal purchase, and shared ownership leases need careful review, so compare quotes from conveyancing solicitors who handle scheme purchases every week.