Community Gateway Association tenants who want to buy their home may be entitled to do so through one of two schemes - the Right to Acquire, or the Preserved Right to Buy.

The Right to Acquire

This scheme gives some housing association tenants the legal right to buy the home they currently rent. It's based on a grants system. Both the property, and the tenant living in it, must qualify for a purchase to be made under the Right to Acquire. The home must either:

• Be a property which transferred from Preston City Council to the CGA or
• Have been built by the CGA on or after April 1 1997, with a grant from the Housing Corporation (a national body) or
• Have been bought by the CGA on or after April 1 1997, with a grant from the Housing Corporation.

The tenant must also meet one of the following rules:

• Have spent at least two years as a public sector tenant, or in housing provided by the armed forces (if you were a tenant before January 18 2005) or
• Have been a public sector tenant for at least five years (if your first tenancy started on or after January 18 2005)
• Live in a self-contained house or flat, which is your only or main home.

To apply for the Right to Acquire, tenants should fill in an application form and return it to the CGA. This form is available from the CGA's head office, any neighbourhood housing office.

The CGA will check the application and confirm:

• If the tenant is entitled to buy their home under the Right to Acquire
• If they're entitled to buy, the purchase price of the home currently rented, based on a market valuation
• The price discount the tenant is entitled to. This is a fixed amount, set by the Government.

The Find out about... buying your home leaflet, available from our downloads page, explains more about the Right to Acquire. This leaflet is also available from the CGA's head office and neighbourhood housing offices.

The Preserved Right to Buy

The Preserved Right to Buy gives some CGA tenants the legal right to buy the home they currently rent. Only former secure tenants who transferred to the CGA qualify; new CGA tenants can't buy their home under this scheme.

The Right to Buy is based on a discount system. This gives tenants a discount on the purchase price of their home, based on the number of years spent as a council or housing association tenant. The discount grows each year, until the maximum level is reached. Where tenants transferred from Preston City Council to the CGA, their discount will keep growing.

To apply for the Preserved Right to Buy, tenants should fill in an application form and return it to the CGA. This form is available from the CGA's head office or any neighbourhood housing office on request.

The CGA will check the application and confirm:

• If the tenant is entitled to buy their home under the Preserved Right to Buy
• If the tenant is entitled to buy their home, the purchase price of the home currently rented
• The price discount the tenant is entitled to, based on their length of time as a CGA and council (or other housing association) tenant.

Download the Find out about... buying your home leaflet to find out more about the Preserved Right to Buy. This leaflet is also available from the CGA's head office and neighbourhood housing offices.