Rent Act 1977

67 Application for registration of rent. E+W

(1) An application for the registration of a rent for a dwelling-house may be made to the rent officer by the landlord or the tenant, or jointly by the landlord and the tenant, under a regulated tenancy of the dwelling-house.

[F1 (2) Any such application must be in the prescribed form and must—

(a) specify the rent which it is sought to register;

(b) where the rent includes any sum payable by the tenant to the landlord for services and the aplication is made by the landlord, specify that sum and be accompanied by details of the expenditure incurred by the landlord in providing those services; and

(c) contain such other particulars as may be prescribed.]

(3) Subject to subsection (4) below [F2 and sections 67A and 70A of this Act], where a rent for a dwelling-house has been registered under this Part of this Act, no application by the tenant alone or by the landlord alone for the registration of a different rent for that dwelling-house shall be entertained before the expiry of [F3 2 years] from the relevant date (as defined in subsection (5) below) except on the ground that, since that date, there has been such a change in—

(a) the condition of the dwelling-house (including the making of any improvement therein),

(b) the terms of the tenancy,

(c) the quantity, quality or condition of any furniture provided for use under the tenancy (deterioration by fair wear and tear excluded), or

(d) any other circumstances taken into consideration when the rent was registered or confirmed,

as to make the registered rent no longer a fair rent.

[F4 (3A) If the dwelling-house forms part of a hereditament in respect of which the landlord or a superior landlord is, or was on the relevant date, liable under Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to pay council tax, then, in determining for the purposes of subsection (3) above whether since the relevant date there has been such a change falling within paragraph (d) of that subsection as to make the registered rent no longer a fair rent, any change in the amount of council tax payable in respect of the hereditament shall be disregarded unless it is attributable to—

(a) the fact that the hereditament has become, or has ceased to be, an exempt dwelling,

(b) an alteration in accordance with regulations under section 24 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 of the valuation band shown in a valuation list as applicable to the hereditament, or

(c) the compilation of a new valuation list in consequence of an order of the Secretary of State under section 5(4)(b) of that Act.

(3B) In subsection (3A) above “hereditament” means a dwelling within the meaning of Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and, subject to that, expressions used in subsection (3A) and in Part I of that Act have the same meaning in that subsection as in that Part.]

(4) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (3) above, an application such as is mentioned in that subsection which is made by the landlord alone and is so made within the last 3 months of the period of [F3 2 years] referred to in that subsection may be entertained notwithstanding that that period has not expired.

[F5 (5) In this section F6 ... “relevant date”, in relation to a rent which has been registered under this Part of this Act, means the date from which the registration took effect or, in the case of a registered rent which has been confirmed, the date from which the confirmation (or, where there have been two or more successive confirmations, the last of them) took effect [F7 but for the purposes of this subsection any registration or confirmation by virtue of section 70A of this Act shall be disregarded.]]

F8 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) F6 ... The provisions of Part I of Schedule 11 to this Act [F9 as modified by the Regulated Tenancies (Procedure) Regulations 1980] [F10 and by the Rent Assessment Committees (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 1981] shall have effect with respect to the procedure to be followed on applications for the registration of rents.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 67(2) substituted by Housing Act 1980 (c. 51, SIF 61), s. 59(2)

F2 Words in s. 67(3) inserted (1.4.1993) by S.I. 1993/651, art. 2(2), Sch. 2 para. 2(a)

F3 Words “2 years” substituted (with saving) for “3 years” by Housing Act 1980 (c. 51, SIF 61), s. 60(1)(2) (Editorial note: the amending section 60 was subsequently repealed without saving by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 61, 75:1), s. 140(2), Sch. 18)

F4 S. 67(3A)(3B) inserted (1.4.1993) by S.I. 1993/651, art. 2(1), Sch. 1 para. 5

F5 S. 67(5) substituted with saving by Housing Act 1980 (c. 51, SIF 61), s. 61(5)(8)

F6 Words repealed by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 61, 75:1), s. 140(2), Sch. 18

F7 Words at the end of s. 67(5) added (1.4.1993) by S.I. 1993/651, art. 2(2), Sch. 2 para. 2(b)

F8 S. 67(6) repealed by Housing Act 1980 (c. 51, SIF 61), Sch. 26

F9 Words inserted by S.I.1980/1696, reg. 2 as respects applications for the registration of a rent made after coming into operation of regulations on 28.11.1980

F10 Words inserted by S.I. 1981/1783, reg. 2(2)