NAFWC34/06 - Right To Buy: Exclusion Of Elderly Persons’ Housing An Update Of Part II Of Welsh Office Circular 57/93

INTRODUCTION

Paragraph 11 of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985 provides that the Right to Buy does not arise if a property is particularly suitable for occupation by elderly persons and had been let for occupation by a person who was aged 60 or more.

The provisions of paragraph 11 reflect changes made by section 106 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. In particular, at that time:

• landlords were empowered to deny the Right to Buy in respect of properties to which paragraph 11 applies;
• tenants who disagreed with their landlord’s denial on these grounds were given the right to ask the Secretary of State (within 56 days) to determine whether or not paragraph 11 applied.

Part II of Welsh Office Circular 57/93, which was issued on 7 October 1993, summarised the new arrangements and explained how the Secretary of State would deal with applications from tenants for determinations on whether paragraph 11 excluded their homes from the Right to Buy. It also provided guidance to landlords on the criteria that the Secretary of State would consider before making a determination. The functions of the Secretary of State in making such determinations was transferred to the National Assembly for Wales under the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (SI 1999/672).