Housing Act 1996

Scope of rights

105 Low rent test: nil rateable values

(1) In section 4(1) of the [1967 c. 88.] Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (meaning of “low rent”) —

(a) in paragraph (i) (cases where rent limit of two-thirds of rateable value on later of appropriate day and first day of term applies), for the words from “or (where” to “that date” there shall be substituted “, or on or after 1st April 1990 in pursuance of a contract made before that date, and the property had a rateable value other than nil at the date of the commencement of the tenancy or else at any time before 1st April 1990,”,

(b) in paragraph (ii) (other cases), for the words from “is entered” to “1990),” there shall be substituted “does not fall within paragraph (i) above,”, and

(c) in paragraph (a) (definition of “appropriate day” by reference to section 25(3) of the [1977 c. 42.] Rent Act 1977), there shall be inserted at the end “if the reference in paragraph (a) of that provision to a rateable value were to a rateable value other than nil”.

(2) In section 4A of the [1967 c. 88.] Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (alternative rent limits for the purposes of section 1A(2) of that Act)—

(a) in subsection (1)(b) (cases where rent limit of two-thirds of rateable value on the relevant date applies), for sub-paragraph (ii) there shall be substituted—

“(ii) the property had a rateable value other than nil at the date of commencement of the tenancy or else at any time before 1st April 1990,”, and

(b) in subsection (2), for paragraph (b) there shall be substituted—

“(b) “the relevant date” means the date of the commencement of the tenancy or, if the property did not have a rateable value, or had a rateable value of nil, on that date, the date on which it first had a rateable value other than nil;”

(3) In section 8 of the [1993 c. 28.] Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (leases at a low rent)—

(a) in subsection (1)(b) (cases where rent limit of two-thirds of rateable value on the appropriate date applies), for sub-paragraph (ii) there shall be substituted—

“(ii) the flat had a rateable value other than nil at the date of the commencement of the lease or else at any time before 1st April 1990,”, and

(b) in subsection (2), for paragraph (b) there shall be substituted—

“(b) “the appropriate date” means the date of commencement of the lease or, if the flat in question did not have a rateable value, or had a rateable value of nil, on that date, the date on which the flat first had a rateable value other than nil;”

106 Low rent test: extension of rights

Schedule 9 (which makes provision for conferring an additional right to enfranchisement in relation to tenancies which fail the low rent test and for introducing an alternative to the low rent test in the case of the right to collective enfranchisement and the right to a new lease) shall have effect.

107 Collective enfranchisement: multiple freeholders

(1) In section 3 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (premises in respect of which the right to collective enfranchisement is exercisable), in subsection (1)(a), the words “and the freehold of the whole of the building or of that part of the building is owned by the same person” shall be omitted.

(2) In section 4 of that Act (premises excluded from the right to collective enfranchisement), after subsection (3) there shall be inserted—

“(3A) Where different persons own the freehold of different parts of premises within subsection (1) of section 3, this Chapter does not apply to the premises if any of those parts is a self-contained part of a building for the purposes of that section.”

(3) In section 1(3) of that Act (additional property which may be acquired by tenants exercising the right to collective enfranchisement), the words “the freehold of it is owned by the person who owns the freehold of the relevant premises and” shall be omitted.

(4) Schedule 10 (amendments consequential on this section) shall have effect.