Housing Defects Act 1984

2 Eligibility for assistance

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Act, a person to whom this section applies is eligible for assistance in respect of a defective dwelling for the purposes of this Act if—

(a) he holds a relevant interest in the dwelling, and

(b) one of the following sets of conditions is satisfied.

(2) The first set of conditions is that—

(a) there was a disposal by a public sector authority of a relevant interest in the dwelling before the cut-off date; and

(b) there has been no disposal for value by any person of a relevant interest in the dwelling on or after the cutoff date;

and for the purposes of this subsection where a public sector authority hold an interest in a dwelling a disposal of that interest by or under any enactment is to be treated as a disposal by the authority.

(3) The second set of conditions is that—

(a) a person to whom this section applies acquired a relevant interest in the dwelling on a disposal for value occurring within the period of twelve months beginning with the cut-off date ;

(b) on the date of that disposal that person was unaware of the association of the dwelling with the qualifying defect;

(c) the value by reference to which the price for the disposal was calculated did not take any, or any adequate, account of the qualifying defect; and

(d) if the cut-off date had fallen immediately after the date of the disposal, the first set of conditions would have been satisfied.

(4) A person who holds a relevant interest in a defective dwelling is not eligible for assistance in respect of the dwelling at any time when that interest is subject to the rights of a person who is a protected occupier within the meaning of the [1976 c. 80.] Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 or a statutory tenant within the meaning of that Act.

(5) No person is eligible for assistance in respect of a defective dwelling if the appropriate authority are of the opinion that—

(a) work to the building that consists of or includes the dwelling has been carried out in order to deal with the qualifying defect, and

(b) on the completion of the work, no further work relating to the dwelling was required to be done to the building in order to deal satisfactorily with the qualifying defect.

(6) In this Act, references to a disposal, except in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2, include references to a part disposal; but, for the purposes of this Act, a disposal of an interest in a dwelling is a disposal of a relevant interest in the dwelling if, and only if, on the disposal the person to whom it is made acquires a relevant interest in the dwelling.

(7) This section applies to—

(a) an individual who is not a trustee,

(b) trustees, if all the beneficiaries are individuals, and

(c) personal representatives.

(8) In this Act—

(a) " relevant interest" means the freehold or a long tenancy unless, in either case, it is subject to a long tenancy and, in Scotland, means the interest of the owner;

(b) references to an interest in a dwelling are references to an interest in land which is or includes the dwelling;

(c) in relation to a person holding an interest in a dwelling formed by the conversion of another dwelling, references to a previous disposal of an interest in the dwelling include a reference to a previous disposal on which an interest in land which included that part of the original dwelling in which his interest subsists was acquired; and

(d) references to a disposal of an interest for value are references to a disposal for money or money's worth, whether or not representing full value for the interest disposed of.

(9) Subject to subsection (10) below, a tenancy is a long tenancy for the purposes of subsection (8) above if—

(a) it is a tenancy granted for a term certain exceeding twenty-one years, whether or not it is (or may become) terminable before the end of that term by notice given by or to the tenant or by re-entry, forfeiture or otherwise ;

(b) it is a tenancy granted in pursuance of Chapter I of Part I of the 1980 Act or Part I of the [1984 c. 29.] Housing and Building Control Act 1984 ; or

(c) it is a tenancy for a term fixed by law under a grant with a covenant or obligation for perpetual renewal, unless it is a tenancy by sub-demise from one which is not a long tenancy.

(10) A tenancy is not a long tenancy for those purposes if—

(a) it is an interest created by way of security and liable to termination by the exercise of a right of redemption or otherwise; or

(b) it is a secure tenancy (within the meaning of Chapter II. of Part I of the 1980 Act).