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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2005 No. 2876
HOUSING, ENGLAND
The Housing (Right to Buy) (Prescribed Forms) (Amendment) (England) (No. 3) Regulations 2005
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Made |
12th October 2005 | |
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Coming into force |
9th November 2005 | |
The First Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 176(1) and (5) of the Housing Act 1985[1], makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and application
1.
—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing (Right to Buy) (Prescribed Forms) (Amendment) (England) (No. 3) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 9th November 2005.
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to dwelling-houses in England only.
Amendment of Regulations
2.
The Housing (Right to Buy) (Prescribed Forms) Regulations 1986[2] are amended by the substitution, for the form set out in Schedule 1, of the form set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.
Signed by authority of the First Secretary of State
Yvette Cooper
Minister of State Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
12th October 2005
SCHEDULERegulation 2
Notes
You may share the right to buy with up to 3 members of your family who are not themselves tenants, if the property is their only or principal home. Unless your landlord agrees otherwise, the family members must also—
— be your husband or wife; or
— have lived with you throughout the last 12 months.
A person living with you as your husband or wife, but not actually married to you, is regarded as a member of your family.
Part D: Qualification and discount
Please read these notes before filling in the table(s).
1.
If you were a public sector tenant before 18th January 2005, you must have been a tenant for at least two years to be eligible to buy your home. The discount available to you then is 32% if you are a tenant of a house and 44% if you are a tenant of a flat. If you are buying a house, you are eligible for 1% more discount for each extra full year, up to a maximum limit of 60% . If you are buying a flat, you are eligible for 2% more discount for each extra full year, up to a maximum limit of 70% . But, whatever percentage you are eligible for, your discount cannot be greater than the maximum discount for the area in which you live, see page 10 of the booklet "Your Right to Buy Your Home".
2.
If you become a public sector tenant for the first time on or after 18th January 2005, you must have been a tenant for at least five years to be eligible to buy your home. The discount available to you after five years is then 35% if you are a tenant of a house and 50% if you are a tenant of a flat. If you are buying a house, you are eligible for 1% more discount for each extra full year, up to a maximum limit of 60% . If you are buying a flat, you are eligible for 2% more discount for each extra full year, up to a maximum limit of 70% . But, whatever percentage you are eligible for, your discount cannot be greater than the maximum discount for the area in which you live, see page 10 of the booklet "Your Right to Buy Your Home".
3.
You need not have spent the full qualifying period in your present home or with your present landlord, and in some circumstances periods which another person (such as your husband or wife) has spent as a public sector tenant or armed forces occupier can count towards your qualifying period.
A public sector tenant is a tenant of one of the public sector landlords listed below who occupies the property as their only or principal home. This may include an employee living in accommodation provided in connection with their job.
An armed forces occupier is a person who occupies accommodation provided for them as a member of the regular armed forces of the Crown.
Part D: Qualification and discount (continued)
Go through the headings below. Where a heading applies to you, give details in the table below. If you are applying to buy jointly with others, each purchaser should fill in the purchaser's name and complete a separate table.
1.
Present and previous tanancies
Give details of:
— your present tenancy if you are a tenant of the property
— any periods in the past when you were a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier.
2.
If you are married and living with your husband or wife
Give details of any periods when your husband or wife:
— was a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier
— was previously married to another person and lived in a property of which that person was a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier.
3.
If you are separated or have been divorced
Give details of any periods when you were living in a property of which your separated or former husband or wife was a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier.
4.
If your husband or wife has died and you were living together when he or she died
Give details of any periods when your deceased husband or wife:
— was a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier
— was previously married to another person and lived in a property of which that person was a public sector tenant or an armed forces occupier.
5.
Tenants who have taken over a public sector tenancy from a parent
A tenant who has taken over a parent's public sector tenancy may be able to count for qualification and discount, periods after the age of 16 living in a property of which a parent was a public sector tenant.
Give details of any periods when:
— you were over the age of 16 and living with a parent who was a public sector tenant
— a person to whom you are or were previously married was over the age of 16 and living with a parent who was a public sector tenant
— a person to whom your husband or wife was previously married was over the age of 16 and living with a parent who was a public sector tenant.
Purchaser's Name:
Notes
1.
When the property is valued to fix the price any improvements which you have made will not be included in the valuation. You should give details of any improvements which you think may affect the valuation e.g. central heating, double glazing, a fitted kitchen or a new bathroom suite.
2.
The value of improvements will also be ignored where they were carried out by either—
— your predecessor in the same tenancy (including an introductory tenancy at the start of the tenancy); or
— a family member who was a secure or introductory tenant of the property immediately before you under a different tenancy.
Part G: Signatures
Remember, if you give false information or withhold relevant information you may be prosecuted.
To be completed by each tenant wishing to buy:
— I claim the right to buy.
— As far as I know the information given in this notice is true.
What happens next?
Your landlord must reply to your claim either by admitting or denying the right to buy. If the right to buy is denied, reasons must be given. Your landlord has 4 weeks to reply unless the period on which you rely to qualify for the right to buy includes a period spent as a tenant of another landlord. In that case your landlord must reply within 8 weeks.
After admitting your right to buy your landlord must notify you of the proposed terms of sale, including the purchase price. At that stage you must decide whether to go ahead with the right to buy or to withdraw your application.
This notice does not commit you to buying the property. You may withdraw at any time before completion by notifying your landlord in writing.
Public sector landlords (see Parts D and E)
Local authorities, parish councils, community councils. Any of the following bodies set up in consequence of the abolition of the Greater London Council and the metropolitan county councils.
a metropolitan county police authority
the Northumbria Police Authority
a metropolitan county fire and civil defence authority
the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
a metropolitan county passenger transport authority
the London Waste Regulation Authority
the West London, North London, East London and Western Riverside Waste Authorities
the Merseyside and Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authorities
a metropolitan county residuary body
Fire and rescue authorities
Internal drainage boards
London Regional Transport
Passenger transport executives
Police authorities
Commission for the New Towns
Housing action trusts
Housing Corporation
Housing for Wales
New town development corporations
Registered social landlords such as housing associations (which are not co-operative associations)
Residuary Body for Wales
Urban development corporations
AFRC Institute for Grassland and Animal Production
Agricultural and Food Research Council
Area Electricity Boards
British Airports Authority
British Broadcasting Corporation
British Coal Corporation
British Gas Corporation
British Railways Board
British Steel Corporation
British Waterways Board
Central Electricity Generating Board
Church Commissioners
Civil Aviation Authority
Electricity Council
English Sports Council
Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England
Lake District Special Planning Board
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
London Residuary Body
Metropolitan county residuary body
Ministers of the Crown and Government Departments
Medical Research Council
National Bus Company
National Health Service trusts
National Rivers Authority
Natural Environment Research Council
Nature Conservancy Council for England
New towns
Peak Park Joint Planning Board
Post Office
Science and Engineering Research Council
Sports Council
Trinity House (but only in its capacity as a lighthouse authority)
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
United Kingdom Sports Council
Water authorities
Countryside Council for Wales
Development Board for Rural Wales
National Library of Wales
National Museum of Wales
Sports Council for Wales
Welsh Development Agency
Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board
Scottish Homes
Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Sports Council
South of Scotland Electricity Board
Education and Library Boards in Northern Ireland
Fire Authority for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Electricity Service
Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company
Police Authority for Northern Ireland
Sports Council for Northern Ireland
AND ANY PREDECESSOR OF THESE LANDLORDS
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Regulation 2 of these Regulations substitutes the form of notice to be used by a tenant claiming to exercise the right to buy his or her dwelling-house in accordance with section 122 of the Housing Act 1985. The Regulations apply in relation to houses and flats in England only.
The new form RTB1 is set out in the Schedule to these Regulations and replaces the form set out in Schedule 1 to the Housing (Right to Buy) (Prescribed Forms) Regulations 1986 ("the 1986 Regulations"). By virtue of regulation 2 of the 1986 Regulations, a form substantially to the same effect as that set out in the Schedule to these Regulations may be used.
The introductory notes to the form have been amended to remove reference to the right to acquire on rent to mortgage terms, which was abolished by section 190 of the Housing Act 2004 for right to buy claims made on or after 18th July 2005.
The notes to section B of the form (details of tenants) have been amended to assist any occupants of a property who may be unsure whether they are tenants.
The notes to section C (family members sharing the right to buy) have been clarified.
The notes at the beginning of section D have been amended to reflect the changes with respect to qualification and discount introduced by the Housing Act 2004, applying to tenants taking up tenancies on or after 18th January 2005. The text of section D has also been slightly amended for greater clarity.
In part G (signatures) the wording of the warning about giving false information has been amended to include withholding relevant information.
Other minor drafting changes have been made to the form.
Notes:
[1]
1985 c. 68. The functions of the Secretary of State under section 176 are, so far as exercisable in relation to Wales, transferred to the National Assembly for Wales by article 2 of, and Schedule 1 to, the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672) to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.back
[2]
S.I. 1986/2194. A relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1993/2246.back
ISBN
0 11 073480 7
| © Crown copyright 2005 |
Prepared
18 October 2005
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