Published 21 November 2018 · Last reviewed 6 May 2026

If you are based in the Midlands you may be entitled to the Voluntary Right to Buy (VRTB) pilot scheme for housing association tenants – and if so maybe you’re looking for a Voluntary Right to Buy mortgage to finance the purchase?

Voluntary Right to Buy is an extension to existing Right to Buy rules. It provides assured tenants of Housing Associations with the ability to purchase their property at a discount.

Ultimately it is the choice of the Housing Associations as to whether they choose to sell their properties but they have an incentive to do so as the Government will pay the full market value on

the understanding the money is reinvested to build a replacement property.

The tenant will then be offered the ability to purchase the property off the Government at a reduced rate, otherwise known as a ‘discounted purchase price’.

Not all Mortgage Lenders offer Right to Buy Mortgages, and even fewer Voluntary Right to Buy Mortgages so if you are looking for one it is sensible to contact a professional mortgage firm, such as Niche Advice.

How much can you borrow?

As a guideline the mortgage borrowing will typically limited to 4 to 4.5 times your income. For example, if you wanted a 100% mortgage based on the discount purchase price of £200,000, the mortgage applicants combined income must total £50,000 (4x) or £44,444 (4.5x).

What if you have had credit issues?

At the moment your credit rating will need to be good to qualify for competitive Voluntary Right to Buy Mortgage rates.

There is an option for applicants with bad credit but the rate is very high so will only suit certain VRTB customers. The good news is Mortgage Lenders are currently hungry to lend so are undoubtedly working on solutions to accommodate Voluntary Right to Buy mortgages which should drive the prices down – so if you have bad credit why not contact us anyway so we advise on the current position and can keep you informed on developments.

See below example of a Voluntary Right to Buy Scheme product 

Niche Advice can help all types of Right to Buy Mortgage customers including those wishing to purchase under the midlands pilot Voluntary Right to Buy Mortgages scheme.