The Housing (Right to Manage) Regulations 1994

Procedure following proposal notice

4.—(1) (a) If a tenant management organisation has not, within three months of serving a proposal notice, appointed an approved person to carry out an initial feasibility study and notified the Secretary of State and the authority of the appointment, the proposal notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(b) The authority shall arrange for an initial feasibility study to be conducted by the approved person appointed under sub-paragraph (a).

(2) The approved person appointed under paragraph (1) shall, within 9 months of his appointment, send a report of the study to the Secretary of State, the authority and the tenant management organisation, which shall include his conclusion as to whether or not it is reasonable to proceed with a full feasibility study.

(3) Where the approved person concludes that it is not reasonable to proceed with a full feasibility study, the proposal notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(4) Where the approved person concludes that it is reasonable to proceed with a full feasibility study, the authority shall, within one month of the approved person submitting his report to the authority under paragraph (2)—

(a) give to the tenants of each house identified in the proposal notice a description prepared by the approved person of the proposal; and

(b) arrange for a ballot or poll to be carried out within that period of those tenants with a view to establishing their opinion about the proposal.

(5) If it appears from a ballot or poll carried out in accordance with paragraph (4)(b) that either a majority of the tenants or a majority of the secure tenants who, on that ballot or poll, express an opinion about the proposal are opposed to it, the authority shall notify the tenant management organisation accordingly, and the proposal notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(6) If it does npt appear as mentioned in paragraph (5), the authority shall notify the Secretary of State and the tenant management organisation accordingly.

(7) Where all of tee houses which are identified in a proposal notice are already included in a management agreement to which the tenant management organisation which has served the notice is a party, an approved person shall be deemed to have been appointed in accordance with paragraph (1)(a), and shall be deemed to have concluded that it is reasonable to proceed with a full feasibility study, and the authority shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (4), and with the requirements of paragraph (6).

(8) (a) If the tenant management organisation has not, within six months of receiving the notification mentioned in paragraph (6), or, where paragraph (7) applies, within six months of serving a proposal notice, appointed an approved person to carry out a full feasibility study and notified the Secretary of State and the authority of the appointment, the proposal notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(b) The authority shall arrange for a full feasibility study to be conducted by the approved person appointed under sub-paragraph (a).

(9) The approved person appointed under paragraph (8) shall, within two years of his appointment, submit a report of the full feasibility study to the Secretary of State, the authority and the tenant management organisation, which shall include his conclusion as to whether it is reasonable to proceed with the proposed management agreement and, if so, on what terms the agreement should be entered into.

(10) The terms of a management agreement set out in a report submitted under paragraph (9) and the terms as modified in accordance with paragraph (14) shall be in such form as may be approved by the Secretary of State for the purpose of these Regulations.

(11) Where the approved person concludes that it is not reasonable to proceed with the proposed agreement, and this conclusion is not referred to an arbitrator under regulation 5, the proposal notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(12) Where the approved person concludes that it is reasonable to proceed with the proposed agreement, and neither this conclusion nor his conclusion as to the terms to be included in the agreement are referred to an arbitrator under regulation 5, the authority shall, within a period of two months beginning on the day on which the approved person submitted his report to the authority under paragraph (9)—

(a) serve a notice prepared by the approved person on the tenants of each house identified in the proposal notice which—

(i) summarises the terms of the proposed agreement set out in his report, and

(ii) contains the address of a place within the locality of the identified houses at which a copy of that report, containing those terms, may be inspected; and

(b) arrange for a ballot (using a ballot paper prepared by the approved person) to be carried out within such period of those tenants with a view to establishing their opinion about the proposal to enter into a management agreement on those terms.

(13) If it does not appear from a ballot carried out in accordance with paragraph (12)(b) that both a majority of the tenants and a majority of the secure tenants are in favour of the proposal the authority shall notify the Secretary of State and the tenant management organisation and the proposal notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(14) Subject to paragraph (15), if it does appear as mentioned in paragraph (13), the authority shall within one month notify the Secretary of State and the tenant management organisation, and within two months of that notification (or within one month of the registration of that organisation as mentioned in paragraph (15), if later) shall enter into a management agreement with the tenant management organisation on the terms made available for inspection pursuant to paragraph (12)(a)(ii), or on those terms subject to such modifications as may be agreed by the tenant management organisation.

(15) An authority shall not enter into a management agreement under paragraph (14) unless the tenant management organisation is registered as an Industrial and Provident Society under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965(1) or as a company under the Companies Act 1985(2); and where the organisation neither is so registered nor has applied to be so registered on the expiry of the two month period mentioned in that paragraph the proposal notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(16) An authority shall, within fourteen days of entering into a management agreement under paragraph (14), submit a copy of the agreement to the Secretary of State.

(1)

1965 c. 12.

(2)

1985 c. 6.