Housing Act 1985

554 Grant of tenancy to former owner-occupier. E+W

(1) Where an authority acquire an interest in a defective dwelling in pursuance of Schedule 20 (repurchase), or in the circumstances described in section 549(3) (exercise of right of pre-emption &c.), and—

(a) the land in which the interest subsists is or includes a dwelling-house occupied as a separate dwelling, and

(b) an individual is an occupier of the dwelling-house throughout the period beginning with the making of an application for assistance under this Part in respect of the dwelling and ending immediately before the completion of the authority’s acquisition, and

(c) he is a person entitled to assistance by way of repurchase in respect of the defective dwelling, or the persons so entitled are in relation to the interest concerned his trustees,

the authority shall, in accordance with this section, either grant or arrange for him to be granted a tenancy (of that dwelling-house or another: see section 556) on the completion of their acquisition of the interest concerned.

(2) If the authority are among those mentioned in section 80(1) (public sector authorities capable of granting secure tenancies) their obligation is to grant a secure tenancy.

[F1 (2A) If the authority is [F2 the new towns residuary body or] a [F3 registered social landlord], other than a housing co-operative, within the meaning of section 27B, their obligation is to grant a secure tenancy if the individual to whom a tenancy is to be granted—

(a) is a person who, immediately before he acquired his interest in the dwelling-house, was a secure tenant of it; or

[F4 (b) is the spouse or civil partner, or a former spouse or former civil partner, or the surviving spouse or surviving civil partner, of a person falling within paragraph (a); or]

(c) is a member of the family, within the meaning of section 186, of a person falling within paragraph (a) who has died, and was residing with that person in the dwelling-house at the time of and for the period of twelve months before his death.]

(3) In any other case their obligation is to grant or arrange for the grant of either—

(a) a secure tenancy, or

(b) a protected tenancy other than one under which the landlord might recover possession under one of the cases in Part II of Schedule 15 to the M1 Rent Act 1977 (cases in which the court must order possession) [F5 or

(c) an assured tenancy which is neither an assured shorthold tenancy, within the meaning of Part I of the Housing Act 1988, nor a tenancy under which the landlord might recover possession on any of Grounds 1 to 5 in Schedule 2 to that Act.]

(4) Where two or more persons qualify for the grant of a tenancy under this section in respect of the same dwelling-house, the authority shall grant the tenancy, or arrange for it to be granted, to such one or more of them as they may agree among themselves or (if there is no such agreement) to all of them.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 554(2A) inserted by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 61), s. 140(1), Sch. 17 Pt. I para. 61(1)

F2 Words in s. 554(2A) inserted (1.12.2008) by The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/3002), art. 4, Sch. 1 para. 26 (with Sch. 2); S.I. 2008/3068, arts. 1(2), 2(1)(b) (with arts. 6-13)

F3 Words in s. 554(2A) substituted (1.10.1996) by S.I. 1996/2325, art. 5(1), Sch. 2 para. 14(28)

F4 S. 554(2A)(b) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), ss. 81, 263(2), Sch. 8 para. 32; S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F5 S. 554(3)(c) inserted by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 61), s. 140(1), Sch. 17 Pt. I para. 61(2)

Marginal Citations

M1 1977 c. 42.