Housing Act 1985

The right to buyE+W

118 The right to buy.E+W

(1)A secure tenant [F1of a dwelling-house in England] has the right to buy, that is to say, the right, in the circumstances and subject to the conditions and exceptions stated in the following provisions of this Part—

(a)if the dwelling-house is a house and the landlord owns the freehold, to acquire the freehold of the dwelling-house;

(b)if the landlord does not own the freehold or if the dwelling-house is a flat (whether or not the landlord owns the freehold), to be granted a lease of the dwelling-house.

(2)Where a secure tenancy is a joint tenancy then, whether or not each of the joint tenants occupies the dwelling-house as his only or principal home, the right to buy belongs jointly to all of them or to such one or more of them as may be agreed between them; but such an agreement is not valid unless the person or at least one of the persons to whom the right to buy is to belong occupies the dwelling-house as his only or principal home.

[F2(3)For the purposes of this Part, a dwelling-house which is a commonhold unit (within the meaning of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) shall be treated as a house and not as a flat.]

119 Qualifying period for right to buy.E+W

[F3(A1)[F4The] right to buy does not arise unless the period which, in accordance with Schedule 4, is to be taken into account for the purposes of this section is at least three years.]

F5(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)Where the secure tenancy is a joint tenancy the condition in subsection [F6(A1) F7...] need be satisfied with respect to one only of the joint tenants.

120 Exceptions to the right to buyE+W

The right to buy does not arise in the cases specified in Schedule 5 (exceptions to the right to buy).

121 Circumstances in which the right to buy cannot be exercised.E+W

[F8(1)The right to buy cannot be exercised if the tenant is subject to an order of the court for possession of the dwelling-house.]

(2)The right to buy cannot be exercised if the person, or one of the persons, to whom the right to buy belongs—

(a)[F9has made a bankruptcy application that has not been determined or] has a bankruptcy petition pending against him,

F10(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c)is an undischarged bankrupt, F11...

(d)has made a composition or arrangement with his creditors the terms of which remain to be fulfilled. [F12or

(e)is a person in relation to whom a moratorium period under a debt relief order applies (under Part 7A of the Insolvency Act 1986).]

[F13(3)The right to buy cannot be exercised at any time during the suspension period under an order made under section 121A in respect of the secure tenancy.]

F14121ZARestriction on exercising the right to buy in WalesE+W

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F15121ZBExceptions to restriction on exercising the right to buy in WalesE+W

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F16121AOrder suspending right to buy because of anti-social behaviourE+W

(1)The court may, on the application of the landlord under a secure tenancy, make a suspension order in respect of the tenancy.

(2) A suspension order is an order providing that the right to buy may not be exercised in relation to the dwelling-house during such period as is specified in the order (“ the suspension period ”).

(3)The court must not make a suspension order unless it is satisfied—

(a)that the tenant, or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house, has engaged or threatened to [F17 engage in—

[F18(i)conduct that is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to some person (who need not be a particular identified person) and that directly or indirectly relates to or affects the landlord's housing management functions, or

(ii)conduct that consists of or involves using housing accommodation owned or managed by the landlord for an unlawful purpose, and]]

(b)that it is reasonable to make the order.

(4)When deciding whether it is reasonable to make the order, the court must consider, in particular—

(a)whether it is desirable for the dwelling-house to be managed by the landlord during the suspension period; and

(b)where the conduct mentioned in subsection (3)(a) consists of conduct by a person which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance, the effect that the conduct (or the threat of it) has had on other persons, or would have if repeated.

(5)Where a suspension order is made—

(a)any existing claim to exercise the right to buy in relation to the dwelling-house ceases to be effective as from the beginning of the suspension period, and

(b)section 138(1) shall not apply to the landlord, in connection with such a claim, at any time after the beginning of that period, but

(c)the order does not affect the computation of any period in accordance with Schedule 4.

(6)The court may, on the application of the landlord, make (on one or more occasions) a further order which extends the suspension period under the suspension order by such period as is specified in the further order.

(7)The court must not make such a further order unless it is satisfied—

(a)that, since the making of the suspension order (or the last order under subsection (6)), the tenant, or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling-house, has engaged or threatened to [F19 engage in—

[F20(i)conduct that is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to some person (who need not be a particular identified person) and that directly or indirectly relates to or affects the landlord's housing management functions, or

(ii)conduct that consists of or involves using housing accommodation owned or managed by the landlord for an unlawful purpose, and]]

(b)that it is reasonable to make the further order.

(8)When deciding whether it is reasonable to make such a further order, the court must consider, in particular—

(a)whether it is desirable for the dwelling-house to be managed by the landlord during the further period of suspension; and

(b)where the conduct mentioned in subsection (7)(a) consists of conduct by a person which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance, the effect that the conduct (or the threat of it) has had on other persons, or would have if repeated.

(9)In this section any reference to the tenant under a secure tenancy is, in relation to a joint tenancy, a reference to any of the joint tenants.

[F21(10)In this section “housing accommodation” includes—

(a)flats, lodging-houses and hostels;

(b)any yard, garden, outhouses and appurtenances belonging to the accommodation or usually enjoyed with it;

(c)any common areas used in connection with the accommodation.]]

[F22121AA Information to help tenants decide whether to exercise right to buy etc. E+W

(1)Every body which lets dwelling-houses [F23in England] under secure tenancies shall prepare a document that contains information for its secure tenants about such matters as are specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.

(2)The matters that may be so specified are matters which the Secretary of State considers that it would be desirable for secure tenants to have information about when considering whether to exercise the right to buy or the right to acquire on rent to mortgage terms.

(3)The information contained in the document shall be restricted to information about the specified matters, and the information about those matters—

(a)shall be such as the body concerned considers appropriate, but

(b)shall be in a form which the body considers best suited to explaining those matters in simple terms.

(4)Once a body has prepared the document required by subsection (1), it shall revise it as often as it considers necessary in order to ensure that the information contained in it—

(a)is kept up to date so far as is reasonably practicable, and

(b)reflects any changes in the matters for the time being specified in an order under this section.

(5)An order under this section shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.]

[F24121BProvision of informationE+W

(1)This section sets out when the document prepared by a body under section 121AA is to be published or otherwise made available.

(2)The body shall—

(a)publish the document (whether in its original or a revised form), and

(b)supply copies of it to the body’s secure tenants [F25of dwelling-houses in England],

at such times as may be prescribed by, and otherwise in accordance with, an order made by the Secretary of State.

(3)The body shall make copies of the current version of the document available to be supplied, free of charge, to persons requesting them.

(4)The copies must be made available for that purpose—

(a)at the body’s principal offices, and

(b)at such other places as it considers appropriate,

at reasonable hours.

(5)The body shall take such steps as it considers appropriate to bring to the attention of its secure tenants [F26of dwelling-houses in England] the fact that copies of the current version of the document can be obtained free of charge from the places where, and at the times when, they are made available in accordance with subsection (4).

(6)In this section any reference to the current version of the document is to the version of the document that was last published by the body in accordance with subsection (2)(a).

(7)An order under this section shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.]