After subsection (3) of section 299 of the 1987 Act (jurisdiction of sheriff) there shall be added the following subsections—

“(4)

Where damages are awarded in proceedings commenced before 1st December 1994 which arise out of a failure on the part of the public sector authority to give a person acquiring a relevant interest in a dwelling notice in writing under section 291, the amount of damages for the purposes of this subsection shall be equal to the difference between—

(a)

the market value of the dwelling assessed as if it were not a defective dwelling and were available for sale on the open market with vacant possession; and

(b)

the market value of the dwelling assessed as a defective dwelling and as if available for sale on the open market with vacant possession.

(5)

Subsection (4) applies in relation to proceedings which arise out of a failure by the authority before the coming into force of section 156 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 as it does to proceedings which arise out of a failure by the authority after that date.”