Chapter 4: Leasehold houses
31.This Chapter amends the provisions of the 1967 Act covering the right of leaseholders of houses to buy their freehold or extend their lease. The changes reflect those introduced by Chapters 2 and 3. The low rent test is abolished. Where marriage value would be payable, it is to be divided equally between the landlord and leaseholder, and no marriage value is payable where the unexpired term of the existing lease exceeds 80 years. The existing requirement that the leaseholder must have lived in the house for the last three years (or periods totalling three years in the last ten) is replaced by a requirement to have held the lease for at least two years, except in the case of certain business leases where the residence period is reduced to two years. Where deceased leaseholders would have been eligible to buy a new lease immediately before they died, their personal representatives will qualify for a period of two years after the date of granting probate or letters of administration.
32.This Chapter provides new rights for leaseholders who have extended their leases under the 1967 Act. They will be able to buy their freehold after the extended lease has commenced. The price will be determined in accordance with section 9(1A) of the 1967 Act. If they do not buy the freehold, they will become entitled to an assured tenancy under Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988 when their extended lease expires.
33.This Chapter also amends the 1967 Act to simplify the procedures for buying the freehold where the landlord cannot be found. It provides that leaseholders can apply to a county court (rather than the High Court) for a vesting order, and that a LVT will determine the price payable (rather than a surveyor appointed by the President of the Lands Tribunal). These procedures are the same as those applying for flats under the 1993 Act.
