If you sell your home within 5 years of buying it from us (or 3 years if purchased prior to 18th January 2005), you may have to pay back some of the discount you were granted at the time of the Right to Buy. The amount you would have to repay depends on how long you have owned your home.

Do I have to offer to sell my home back to you?

Possibly, but only if you purchased your home under the Right to Buy scheme on or after 18 January 2005, and you wish to resell or dispose of it within 10 years. You will be required to offer it to either your former landlord, or to another social landlord, in your area at the full market value. The market value must be agreed between the parties, or if they are unable to agree, will be determined by the district valuer. If your offer has not been accepted within 8 weeks, you will be free to sell the property on the open market.

What do I need to do when I'm ready to sell my home?

You must make arrangements to pay any outstanding service charge invoices or any outstanding costs for major work before you leave your home. You will also need to deal with payments you make for your home such as Council Tax, water rates, electricity, gas and your phone.

Assigning your lease

You do not need our permission to sell your property. However, it is a requirement of your lease that we are notified of the sale within 21 days of completion. This needs to be done by way of a formal notice of assignment served by the purchaser's solicitors to Exeter City Council's Legal Services Department. There is a fee for serving this notice.

The notice of assignment is required in order to update our records. If no notice is received, you will still be liable for any charges against the property.

Subletting

You can let your property to another person if you want to, but you remain responsible for:

• making sure that anyone living in your property complies with the covenants of your lease
• paying all service charges. If you let your property, you must inform our Legal Services Department in writing and provide details of where you can be contacted for future correspondence and any invoices. There will be a registration fee for this. If you have a mortgage on your home your lender may have rules about subletting

Letting out your flat may affect the buildings insurance premium and can affect the risks covered. Also remember that if you sublet your property, you are legally obliged to have any gas appliances serviced annually. All servicing and maintenance to any appliance should be carried out by a fully trained trades person.