Housing Act 1988

Part IAmendments of Schedule 1 to [1977 c. 42.] Rent Act 1977

1In paragraph 1 the words “or, as the case may be, paragraph 3” shall be omitted.

2At the end of paragraph 2 there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraphs—

“(2)For the purposes of this paragraph, a person who was living with the original tenant as his or her wife or husband shall be treated as the spouse of the original tenant.

(3)If, immediately after the death of the original tenant, there is, by virtue of sub-paragraph (2) above, more than one person who fulfils the conditions in sub-paragraph (1) above, such one of them as may be decided by agreement or, in default of agreement, by the county court shall be treated as the surviving spouse for the purposes of this paragraph.”

3In paragraph 3—

(a)after the words “residing with him” there shall be inserted “in the dwelling-house”;

(b)for the words “period of 6 months” there shall be substituted “period of 2 years”;

(c)for the words from “the statutory tenant” onwards there shall be substituted “entitled to an assured tenancy of the dwelling-house by succession”; and

(d)at the end there shall be added the following sub-paragraph—

“(2)If the original tenant died within the period of 18 months beginning on the operative date, then, for the purposes of this paragraph, a person who was residing in the dwelling-house with the original tenant at the time of his death and for the period which began 6 months before the operative date and ended at the time of his death shall be taken to have been residing with the original tenant for the period of 2 years immediately before his death.”

4In paragraph 4 the words “or 3” shall be omitted.

5In paragraph 5—

(a)for the words from “or, as the case may be” to “of this Act” there shall be substituted “below shall have effect”; and

(b)for the words “the statutory tenant” there shall be substituted “entitled to an assured tenancy of the dwelling-house by succession”.

6For paragraph 6 there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“6(1)Where a person who—

(a)was a member of the original tenant’s family immediately before that tenant’s death, and

(b)was a member of the first successor’s family immediately before the first successor’s death,

was residing in the dwelling-house with the first successor at the time of, and for the period of 2 years immediately before, the first successor’s death, that person or, if there is more than one such person, such one of them as may be decided by agreement or, in default of agreement, by the county court shall be entitled to an assured tenancy of the dwelling-house by succession.

(2)If the first successor died within the period of 18 months beginning on the operative date, then, for the purposes of this paragraph, a person who was residing in the dwelling-house with the first successor at the time of his death and for the period which began 6 months before the operative date and ended at the time of his death shall be taken to have been residing with the first successor for the period of 2 years immediately before his death.”

7Paragraph 7 shall be omitted.

8In paragraph 10(1)(a) for the words “paragraphs 6 or 7” there shall be substituted “paragraph 6”.

9At the end of paragraph 11 there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“11AIn this Part of this Schedule “the operative date” means the date on which Part I of the Housing Act 1988 came into force.”