Other Home Ownership Schemes
If you do not have the Right to Buy then you may wish to explore these other schemes which can help you make the move into home ownership:

• Right to Acquire: This scheme was introduced in the Housing Act 1996, and gives certain tenants of Registered Social Landlords (e.g. housing associations) a statutory right to buy their home at a discount, generally between £9,000 - £16,000 depending on the local authority area. It only applies to RSL properties built or purchased with public funds or transferred from a local authority after 1 April 1997, subject to certain exceptions. Eligible tenants must have spent a total of two years as a public sector tenant. The discount is funded by a grant from the Housing Corporation. For further information on the scheme contact your RSL.
• Voluntary Purchase Grant Scheme: The Voluntary Purchase Grant Scheme (VPG) was introduced in April 1996. Tenants of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in properties built before 1 April 1997 who do not qualify for the Right to Acquire may be able to buy the home they rent at a discount. The scheme does not apply to all tenants, as it is up to the RSL whether it takes part in the scheme and some properties may be excluded.
• Cash Incentive Scheme: The objectives of the Cash Incentive Scheme are to release local authority accommodation for letting to those in housing need and to encourage owner occupation. The scheme works by the payment of a grant to a tenant to assist them buying a property in the private sector. It is up to each local authority to decide whether to run a CIS scheme and tenants have no mandatory right to a grant. The size of grant payable is set by local authorities themselves, but must be within parameters set by the Department - up to 80% of the average Right To Buy discount for London, South East and Eastern regions and £10,000 elsewhere. All grants must be means tested.
• Starter Home Intiative: This SHI was one of a number of proposals included in the Housing Green Paper in recognition of the difficulties faced by key workers on low income when purchasing a house in high demand, high price areas. The Starter Home Initiative is expected to help around 10,000 key workers, particularly nurses, teachers and the police to buy homes in urban and rural areas where high prices would otherwise prevent them from living in or near to the communities they serve.

In addition, there are a number of shared ownership schemes such as the Homebuy scheme, which are outlined in the next section.