Improving Council House

OtherS · 2023-10-29T18:23:12+00:00

If you do work on your council house and then decide to buy it at a later date, will you have to pay what it would be worth without the work, or the full price it's now worth... so for example if it's worth £300k, you do £25k worth of work and it's now worth £350k would you pay £300k or £350k, or £350k with a refund for any work you can prove you've done?

Symposium · 29/10/2023 20:03

If you apply to buy your home then it will be based on current market value and then whatever discount you are entitled to. There's loads of info at gov.uk

Doubledodecahedron · 29/10/2023 20:07

I've often wondered this. I wonder if possible to get valued before and after work you've completed and argue the percentage difference if it comes to sell. We're considering the same and it will massively increase the value - I may be in a position to purchase if I get any inheritance but don't want to scupper my chances of being able to afford it by effectively paying twice for the work we want to do!

Original poster

OtherS · 29/10/2023 20:33

Doubledodecahedron · 29/10/2023 20:07

I've often wondered this. I wonder if possible to get valued before and after work you've completed and argue the percentage difference if it comes to sell. We're considering the same and it will massively increase the value - I may be in a position to purchase if I get any inheritance but don't want to scupper my chances of being able to afford it by effectively paying twice for the work we want to do!

Exactly this - I have a disability and the property I want will need a lot of work which will also add a lot of value. My parents are happy to loan me the money to do it but I'm wondering if I'll be shooting myself in the foot. Otherwise I could go for a place I like less and will work less well for me, but won't need any adjustments.

OP posts:

ShadowyAlpaca · 29/10/2023 22:22

If its still the same they'll go by the current value, so if you've made improvements you'll be paying twice.

I didn't buy our house from the council but our next door neighbours did. They had a flat previously which they spent a fortune doing up only for the council to take into account the refurbishment when quoting a purchase price. They declined and later moved to a house.

They refused to do a thing to the house until they'd bought it, the staircase was even falling away from the wall. They then bought it off the council for a bargain price.

Kitkat1523 · 29/10/2023 22:39

You will be paying twice for the work….it will be sold to you for a price taking into account the renovations…doesn’t matter what it was like when you moved in

Fidgety31 · 29/10/2023 22:53

I bought my council house after adding renovations . The house was initially valued and I then requested it be redone by the district valuer to remove the costs that I had spent on it myself . I had to provide receipts for what I had done but successfully got the purchase price reduced by £10k

Original poster

OtherS · 30/10/2023 09:20

Fidgety31 · 29/10/2023 22:53

I bought my council house after adding renovations . The house was initially valued and I then requested it be redone by the district valuer to remove the costs that I had spent on it myself . I had to provide receipts for what I had done but successfully got the purchase price reduced by £10k

But you still had to pay for the added value? In my case I'd be essentially adding a bedroom so the value would increase massively. I don't know how much it matters, the only way I'd ever be able to buy would be through inheritance and there's obviously no guarantee. I don't even know if there would be any benefit to buying but it's something I should probably have a think about.

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LookingForPurpose · 30/10/2023 09:33

You need to apply for permission for all works you want to be considered in the future. Then they get approved and sit in your file. When you buy the house they will consider the upgrades THAT SIT ON FILE and nothing else. My brother in law and 2 friends spent 6 months every weekend and 5k sorting out her swamp of a garden and while digging it out they find a car chassis ! If they had paid full price they would spent around £20k in Labour and it looks gorgeous but the council didn't care as they hadn't applied for permission.

For disabled adaptations you can apply for grants for a bathroom, kitchen, ramp, stair lift etc. but you may be shocked to find that changing your house to suit a disabled person actually decreases the value as it reduces the market it's suitable for. Also, if you explore the RTB information, the council often refuse to sell adapted properties as they are in high demand. I myself am in a 5 bed under occupied council property with just myself and my daughter. But there are no suitable properties for me to move to and this has had lots of work done on it to make it usable for me.

Original poster

OtherS · 30/10/2023 09:47

LookingForPurpose · 30/10/2023 09:33

You need to apply for permission for all works you want to be considered in the future. Then they get approved and sit in your file. When you buy the house they will consider the upgrades THAT SIT ON FILE and nothing else. My brother in law and 2 friends spent 6 months every weekend and 5k sorting out her swamp of a garden and while digging it out they find a car chassis ! If they had paid full price they would spent around £20k in Labour and it looks gorgeous but the council didn't care as they hadn't applied for permission.

For disabled adaptations you can apply for grants for a bathroom, kitchen, ramp, stair lift etc. but you may be shocked to find that changing your house to suit a disabled person actually decreases the value as it reduces the market it's suitable for. Also, if you explore the RTB information, the council often refuse to sell adapted properties as they are in high demand. I myself am in a 5 bed under occupied council property with just myself and my daughter. But there are no suitable properties for me to move to and this has had lots of work done on it to make it usable for me.

I don't think it will come under official adaptations, though I will ask. The main thing would be knocking through from the bathroom to the kitchen to allow a walk-in shower - I know they'll put in a walk-in shower for me but they've only offered to do it in place of the bath, and I would like to keep the bath as well as I get muscle cramps which are massively helped by a good soak. But on bad days having a flat shower with solid walls to hold onto will be a godsend! But this would mean having to redo the kitchen as well, it would all be a much more usable layout when done.

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Doubledodecahedron · 30/10/2023 18:58

I wonder if different areas have different policies. I guess the only real way to tell is to ask the council or housing association we rent from! And get it in writing. I should take my own advice