Eligibility for a House Purchase Grant

If you are a Wandsworth Council tenant with more than two years tenancy, you may be eligible for a grant of up to £120,000 (subject to eligibility criteria) to vacate your council property and to use towards buying your own home on the open market within the UK or anywhere else in the world.

The grant may also be used towards purchasing a share of a shared ownership property (part rent part buy) within the UK.

Alternatively, the grant can be used towards adapting a family members' home within the UK, for example, an annexe or a loft conversion, to accommodate you.

How we calculate your grant

The grant is means-tested and designed to support tenants where there is a shortfall between the cost of purchasing a property and the funding that can be secured through a mortgage or personal resources. If you have sufficient income to access mortgage finance, it is expected that this will form the primary means of funding the purchase. The grant is intended only to bridge any remaining shortfall and is not to replace mortgage borrowing or to enable full cash purchases where borrowing capacity exists.

Following financial assessment, the level of grant awarded will reflect the extent of any identified shortfall. As a result, you may receive a reduced grant or no grant at all if sufficient funding is available through your own means.

See more about how payments are calculated.

Who can apply

• More than one person can apply as long as no one has a current interest in another property
• A tenant of any age including someone who is retired so long as you are financially able to fund the property
• You can apply if you have bad credit history but you may have difficulty in obtaining a mortgage
• You do not have to be a first time buyer but you must not own another property
• If you wish to apply for the grant you must not be in rent arrears, any outstanding arrears must be paid off before you will be allowed to progress with the application

What property the grant can be used for

• A UK property of any size as long as there is no overcrowding
• A property abroad with one more bedroom than your household size requires
• Adapting a family member's home within the UK, for example, an annexe or a loft conversion, to accommodate you

The grant cannot be used for

• Purchase of your council property
• Land purchases, adaptations or property building outside the UK
• A caravan, lodge, boathouse or other non brick built property
• A derelict property
• Auction Sales