Qualifying rules
Section 130: Replacement of residence test
223.Section 130 removes the previous requirement that tenants must satisfy a residence test to qualify for this right. Instead, it introduces a new requirement that the tenant must have been a qualifying tenant (i.e. a long leaseholder) for at least two years before they can exercise this right.
Section 131: Qualifying leases
224.Section 131 amends the definition of qualifying tenant. Previously, a qualifying tenant had to either have a lease of more than 35 years (a lease for a particularly long term) or a lease of more than 21 years at a low rent. The amendments remove the ‘low rent’ and lease for a ‘particularly long term’ tests. Following these changes, a qualifying tenant is, for the purposes of the right to acquire a new lease, a long leaseholder of a flat.
Section 132: Personal representatives
225.Section 132 makes special provision for the benefit of those who inherit leases. Provided that the deceased had been a qualifying tenant for at least two years (see section 130), their personal representatives will have the right to a new lease notwithstanding the fact that they have not, themselves, held the lease for at least two years. This right can only be exercised during a period of two years starting from the date of grant of probate or of letters of administration.
Section 133: Crown leases
226.Section 133 inserts a new version of section 94(2) of the 1993 Act. It ensures that any long leaseholder of a flat in a Crown property can obtain a new lease under that Act where their immediate landlord is not the Crown. Where the Crown is the immediate landlord, the long leaseholder can obtain a new lease outside the 1993 Act under the voluntary undertaking given by the Crown to that effect.