Affordable housing - discount market sale scheme customer information guide

The purchaser of a Discount Market Sale or First Homes home owns the property outright. No other party has a share of the equity, although a mortgage lender will still have their rights. Consequently, the owner is responsible for all repairs and maintenance costs. They are also entitled to undertake any home improvements they wish, for example adding a conservatory or extending the property (subject to securing planning permission where needed).

If a current Discount Market Sale or First Homes property owner is seeking to sell their property and have increased the square footage of the property (the footprint area of their dwelling), the discount from open market value will only be applied to the original property footprint. The existing property owner is entitled to recover the full (undiscounted) value of the extension without the discount from open market value being applied and any Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuation upon resale should reflect this condition. For properties with an increased footprint, the revised RICS valuation should include 100% value of the extended footprint and 80% of open market value of the original property footprint to set the maximum resale price. Existing property owners can elect to sell their homes for less than the maximum resale sale price provided the incoming purchaser during the notice period (12 weeks from the point at which the Strategic Housing Team agree the maximum sale or resale price) and meet the local eligibility criteria.