7(1)Where a tenant of a house gives the landlord notice in accordance with Part I of this Act of the tenant’s desire to have the freehold or an extended lease, the landlord shall within two months give the tenant a notice in reply in the prescribed form stating whether or not the landlord admits the tenant’s right to have the freehold or extended lease (subject to any question as to the correctness of the particulars given in the tenant’s notice of the house and premises); and if the landlord does not admit the tenant’s right, the notice shall state the grounds on which it is not admitted.E+W
(2)Subject to sub-paragraph (3) below, where under Part I of this Act the landlord may object to the inclusion of any part of the house and premises as described in the tenant’s notice, or may object to the exclusion of other property, the notice of his objection shall be given with or before his notice in reply, unless the right to give it later is reserved by the notice in reply.
(3)If (on the assumption, where it is not admitted, that the tenant has the right claimed) it is intended to apply to the court for possession of the house and premises under section 17 or 18 of this Act, the notice in reply shall state that it is the intention to do so, and sub-paragraph (2) above shall not apply.
(4)Where a landlord’s notice in reply admits the tenant’s right to have the freehold or extended lease of a house and premises, the admission shall be binding on the landlord, so far as relates to the matters [F1relevant to the existence of that right], unless the landlord shows that he was induced to make the admission by misrepresentation or the concealment of material facts; but the admission shall not conclude any question whether the particulars of the house and premises in the tenant’s notice are correct.
(5)The tenant shall not institute proceedings in the court with a view to the enforcement of his right to have the freehold or an extended lease before the landlord has given his notice in reply or two months have elapsed without his doing so since the giving of the tenant’s notice.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in Sch. 3 Pt. II para. 7(4) substituted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 52, s. 106, Sch. 9 para. 2(1)(9); S.I. 1997/618, art. 2(1) (with Sch.)