LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND AND WALES LONDON GOVERNMENT HOUSING, ENGLAND AND WALES Citation and commencement 1 This order may be cited as the Local Government Reorganisation (Preservation of Right to Buy) Order 1986 and shall come into operation on 31st December 1986. Interpretation 2 1 In this order— “ successor authority ” means the Inner London Education Authority, an authority established under section 10(1) (joint arrangements for waste disposal functions), a joint authority established by Part IV (police, fire services, civil defence and transport) or a body established by Part VII (residuary bodies), of the Local Government Act 1985. 2 This order shall be read as one with Part V of the Housing Act 1985 (the right to buy). Preservation of right to buy 3 1 Subject to the provisions of this order, Part V continues to apply where a person ceases to be a secure tenant of a dwelling-house by reason of the disposal on or after the commencement of this order by a landlord which is a successor authority of an interest in the dwelling-house to a person who is not an authority or body within section 80 (the landlord condition for secure tenancies). 2 References in this order— a to the preservation of the right to buy and to a person having the preserved right to buy are to the continued application of Part V by virtue of this order and to a person to whom Part V so applies; b to a qualifying disposal are to the disposal described in paragraph (1); and c to the former secure tenant and the former landlord are to the persons mentioned in paragraph (1). Extent of preserved right: qualifying persons and dwelling-houses 4 1 A person to whom this article applies has the preserved right to buy so long as the occupies the relevant dwelling-house as his only or principal home, subject to the following provisions of this order. 2 Unless otherwise expressly provided, references in this order to a qualifying person and qualifying dwelling-house, in relation to the preserved right to buy, are to a person who has that right and to a dwelling-house in relation to which a person has that right. 3 The following are the persons to whom this article applies— a the former secure tenant, or in the case of a joint tenancy, each of them; b a qualifying successor as defined in paragraph (4); c a person to whom a tenancy of a dwelling-house is granted jointly with a person who has the preserved right to buy in relation to that dwelling-house. 4 The following are qualifying successors for this purpose— a where the former secure tenancy was not a joint tenancy, a person who, on the death of the former secure tenant, becomes by virtue of paragraph 2 or 3 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Rent Act 1977 (surviving spouse or member of deceased tenant's family) the statutory tenant of a dwelling-house in relation to which the former secure tenant had the preserved right to buy immediately before his death; b a person who becomes the tenant of a dwelling-house in pursuance of— i a property adjustment order under section 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, or ii an order under Schedule 1 to the Matrimonial Homes Act 1983 transferring the tenancy, in place of a person who had the preserved right to buy in relation to that dwelling-house. 5 The relevant dwelling-house is in the first instance— a in relation to a person within article 4(3)(a), the dwelling-house which was the subject of the qualifying disposal; b in relation to a person within article 4(3)(b), the dwelling-house of which he became the statutory tenant or tenant as mentioned in paragraph (4)(a) or (b) of that article; c in relation to a person within article 4(3)(c), the dwelling-house of which he became a joint tenant as mentioned in that paragraph. Changes of dwelling-house by qualifying person 5 1 If a person having the preserved right to buy becomes the tenant of another dwelling-house in place of the relevant dwelling-house (whether the new dwelling-house is entirely different from or partly or substantially the same as the previous dwelling-house) and the landlord is the same person as the landlord of the previous dwelling-house or, where that landlord was a company, is a connected company, the new dwelling-house becomes the relevant dwelling-house for the purposes of the preserved right to buy. 2 For this purpose “ connected company ” means a subsidiary or holding company within the meaning of section 736 of the Companies Act 1985. Application with modifications of Part V to preserved right 6 Where the right to buy is preserved, Part V applies subject to the modifications specified in Schedule 1 to this order. Subsequent dealings: disposal of landlord's interest in qualifying dwelling-house 7 The disposal by the landlord of an interest in the qualifying dwelling-house, whether his whole interest or a lesser interest, does not affect the preserved right to buy, unless— a as a result of the disposal an authority or body within section 80(1) (the landlord condition for secure tenancies) becomes the landlord of the qualifying person or persons, or b paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to this order applies (effect of failure to register entry protecting preserved right to buy); in which case the right to buy ceases to be preserved. Subsequent dealings: termination of landlord's interest in qualifying dwelling-house 8 1 On the termination of the landlord's interest in the qualifying dwelling-house— a on the occurrence of an event determining his estate or interest, or by re-entry on a breach of condition or forfeiture, or b where the interest is a leasehold interest, by notice given by him or a superior landlord, on the expiry or surrender of the term, or otherwise (subject to paragraph (2)), the right to buy ceases to be preserved. 2 The termination of the landlord's interest by merger on his acquiring a superior interest, or on the acquisition by another person of the landlord's interest together with a superior interest, does not affect the preserved right to buy, unless— a as a result of the acquisition an authority or body within section 80(1) (the landlord condition for secure tenancies) becomes the landlord of the qualifying person or persons, or b paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to this order applies (effect of failure to register entry protecting preserved right to buy); in which case the right to buy ceases to be preserved. 3 Where the termination of the landlord's interest as mentioned in paragraph (1) is caused by the act or omission of the landlord, a qualifying person who is thereby deprived of the preserved right to buy is entitled to be compensated by him. Subsequent dealings: transfer of qualifying person to alternative accommodation 9 The court shall not order a qualifying person to give up possession of the qualifying dwelling-house in pursuance of section 98(1)(a) of the Rent Act 1977 (suitable alternative accommodation) unless the court is satisfied— a that the preserved right to buy will, by virtue of article 5 (change of dwelling-house by qualifying person), continue to be exercisable in relation to the dwelling-house offered by way of alternative accommodation and that the interest of the landlord in the new dwelling-house will be— i where the new dwelling-house is a house, not less than the interest of the landlord in the existing dwelling-house, or ii where the new dwelling-house is a flat, not less than the interest of the landlord in the existing dwelling-house or a term of years of which 80 years or more remain unexpired, whichever is the less; or b that the landlord of the new dwelling-house will be an authority or body within section 80(1) (the landlord condition for secure tenancies). Land registration and related matters 10 Schedule 2 to this order has effect with respect to registration of title and related matters arising in connection with the preservation of the right to buy. Disposal after notice claiming to exercise right to buy, etc 11 1 Where notice has been given in respect of a dwelling-house claiming to exercise the right to buy or the right to a mortgage and before the completion of the exercise of that right the dwelling-house is the subject of— a a qualifying disposal, or b a disposal to which article 7(a) or 8(2)(a) applies (disposal to authority or body satisfying landlord condition for secure tenancies), all parties shall, subject to paragraph (2), be in the same position as if the disponee had become the landlord before the notice was given and had been given that notice and any further notice given by the tenant to the landlord and had taken all steps which the landlord had taken. 2 If the circumstances after the disposal differ in any material respect, as for example where— a the interest of the disponee in the dwelling-house after the disposal differs from that of the disponor before the disposal, or b the right to a mortgage becomes exercisable against the Housing Corporation rather than the former landlord, or vice versa, or c any of the provisions of Schedule 5 (exceptions to the right to buy) becomes or ceases to be applicable, all those concerned shall, as soon as practicable after the disposal, take all such steps (whether by way of amending or withdrawing and re-serving any notice or extending any period or otherwise) as may be requisite for the purpose of securing that all parties are, as nearly as may be, in the same position as they would have been if those circumstances had obtained before the disposal. Stamp duty on disposal at a discount 12 Section 107 of the Finance Act 1981 (stamp duty payable on disposal of a dwelling-house at a discount by certain authorities) applies to a conveyance or transfer on sale (including the grant of a lease) by a person against whom the preserved right to buy is exercisable by virtue of this order to a person who is a qualifying person for the purposes of this order and in relation to whom that dwelling-house is the qualifying dwelling-house. Nicholas Ridley Secretary of State for the Environment 2nd December 1986