Housing Act 2004

Housing Act 2004

2004 CHAPTER 34

Commentary on Sections

Part 6

Section 191: Secure Tenancies: Withholding Of Consent To Mutual Exchange

445. Mutual exchanges occur when two tenants of social landlords swap homes by legally assigning their tenancies to each other. The permission of the landlord of both tenants is required. The landlord of a secure tenant can not refuse permission unless the grounds set out in Schedule 3 to the Housing Act 1985 are met.

446. Section 191 introduces a new Ground 2A into Schedule 3 of the Housing Act 1985. The landlord of a secure tenant may refuse an application if a specified type of injunction, an anti-social behaviour order or a possession order granted on the grounds of nuisance is in force or if court action to obtain such an order or a demolition order is pending against the tenant, the proposed assignee or a person who resides with either of them.

447. A demotion order is an order obtained under provisions inserted in the Housing Act 1985 and the Housing Act 1988 by the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, which ends a secure or an assured tenancy and replaces it with a demoted tenancy, which is essentially a probationary tenancy.

448. An anti-social behaviour order is an order obtained under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which places specified limitations on the conduct of the individual against whom it is made.