Right to Buy Query

[jorainbow]

Hi Amethyst. That's correct yes but they are saying I lost the PRTB completely and not only that but I don't even have the right to acquire as the property was built in 1975. It was transferred to the existing association in 2000.

[Amethyst]

Ahh so they are saying you lost your PRTB on your original house because you moved to a house owned by a different housing association then moved back again?

Mutual exchanges are a grey area I'm afraid particularly between different housing associations.

(6)If a person having the preserved right to buy becomes the tenant of another dwelling-house in place of the relevant dwelling-house (whether the new dwelling-house is entirely different or partly or substantially the same as the previous dwelling-house) and the landlord is the same person as the landlord of the previous dwelling-house or, where that landlord was a company, is a connected company, the new dwelling-house becomes the relevant dwelling-house for the purposes of the preserved right to buy.

10. Are my rights affected if I’ve done a mutual exchange with another tenant?

A mutual exchange is where a tenant of one property exchanges their home for that of another tenant. It can be with the same landlord or a different one, and can happen in council tenancies, housing association tenancies or between the two.
If you have had a mutual exchange, your current tenancy is treated as a new tenancy and you retain your own tenancy history (not the other tenant’s).
It is important to be aware that, if you move into a housing association property, you will not have any preserved Right to Buy that the previous tenant might have had, and, if you move to a property with a different landlord, you will lose any preserved Right to Buy that you may have had in your old property.
It is worth checking the terms of a mutual exchange with your old and new landlord before agreeing to it.

There is a Gov run RTB service helpline which you might be able to find out if you got your PRTB back when moving back to your original property.... 0300 1230913 - righttobuy.gov.uk