Cornwall Council takes action to stop unauthorised uses of houses bought under right to buy scheme

Cornwall Council is reminding people who have bought properties under the government’s Right to Buy scheme that there are legal restrictions on what they can do with their properties once they have bought them.

Houses bought under the government’s Right to Buy scheme usually have a legal restriction on them which means that the owner should not be renting them out as holiday lets, letting them out to students or making significant alterations to their property.  In rural areas especially, there are also restrictions on who the property can be bought by or rented to in the future as, in many cases, the new owner or tenant has to have a Cornwall connection.

In some cases it may be that the person who has bought a former Council house some time ago is not fully aware that restrictions may still be in force so,  the Council is giving those people a period of grace of one year to put right any breaches.  Anyone who has bought a property from 01 May this year will be expected to abide by the restrictions from day one.

The Council can take legal action against anyone who is not abiding by the legal restrictions and apply for a Court injunction requiring that they put right whatever they are doing in breach of the restriction. Breaching an injunction is contempt of Court and the Court can impose an unlimited fine or even a custodial sentence.

Homeowners who have bought their properties under the Right to Buy Scheme will be contacted direct to remind them of their obligations.

If anyone believes that a former right to buy property is in breach of a restrictive covenant you can report this to the Council Investigation team.

April 2019