PART XIV ASSISTANCE FOR OWNERS OF DEFECTIVE HOUSING

Assistance by way of repurchase

277 Interest subject to right of pre-emption, etc.

1

This section applies where a person (“the owner”) is entitled to assistance by way of repurchase in respect of a defective dwelling and there is a condition in the title relating to his interest in the dwelling whereby—

a

before disposing of the interest he must offer to dispose of it to a public sector authority, or

b

in the case of an interest under a lease, he may require a public sector authority who are his landlords to accept a surrender of the lease but is otherwise prohibited from disposing of it.

2

If the public sector authority are the local authority in whose area the dwelling is situated, the condition in the title shall be disregarded for the purposes of Schedule 20 (repurchase).

3

If the public sector authority are not the local authority, the provisions of this Part as to repurchase do not apply so long as there is such a condition in the title; but if—

a

the owner disposes of his interest to the public sector authority in pursuance of the condition in the title or lease, and

b

the interest acquired by that authority on the disposal subsists only in the land affected, that is to say, the defective dwelling and any garage, outhouse, garden, yard and pertinents belonging to or usually enjoyed with the dwelling or any part of it,

the owner is entitled to be paid by the local authority the amount (if any) by which 95 per cent. of the defect-free value exceeds the consideration for the disposal.

4

For the purposes of this section—

a

the “consideration for the disposal” means the amount before any reduction required by section 72 (reduction corresponding to amount of discount repayable) or any provision to the like effect, and

b

the “defect-free value” means the amount that would have been the consideration for the disposal if none of the defective dwellings to which the designation in question related had been affected by the qualifying defect.