Exclusions for Continuing Tenants: HA 1988 s. 100
HA 1988 s. 100 excludes houses of opting-out tenants from acquisition and requires applicants to lease flats back to landlords so tenants stay with them.
The Secretary of State shall make regulations imposing the following requirements in relation to any acquisition under this Part, namely— that any dwelling-house which is a house and is occupied by a tenant to whom subsection (2) below applies shall be excluded from the acquisition; and that a lease of any dwelling-house which is a flat and is occupied by a tenant to whom subsection (2) below applies or by a tenant of a description prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph shall be granted by the applicant to the landlord immediately after the acquisition. This subsection applies— to any qualifying tenant whose tenancy commenced before the relevant date, and to any tenant of a description prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, being, in either case, a tenant who, before the end of the period mentioned in section 102 below and in response to the consultation under that section, gives notice as mentioned in section 103(2) below of his wish to continue as a tenant of the landlord. If, by virtue of regulations under this section, any houses fall to be excluded from the acquisition— there shall be determined the sum (in this subsection referred to as “ the sum referable to excluded houses ”) which represents that proportion of the amount attributable to houses which the number of habitable rooms in the houses which fall to be so excluded bears to the number of habitable rooms in all of the houses comprised in the property to which the acquisition relates; and if the amount attributable to houses is a price, the sum referable to excluded houses shall be applied as a deduction from any price payable for the property to be acquired, as determined under section 99 above, and as an increase in any disposal cost attributable to that property; and if the amount attributable to houses is a disposal cost, the sum referable to excluded houses shall be applied as an increase in any price payable for the property to be acquired, as determined under section 99 above, and as a deduction from any disposal cost attributable to that property. In section 99(1)(ii) and subsection (3) above, “ the amount attributable to houses ”, in relation to an acquisition under this Part, means,— if the property to which the acquisition relates consists of dwelling-houses which are houses and no other property, the price or, as the case may be, disposal cost specified in accordance with section 99(1)(i) above; and in any other case, the price or disposal cost which, under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of section 99 above, would be payable for, or attributable to, the property to which the acquisition relates if there were excluded from that property all property other than dwelling-houses which are houses.
Text in force at .
Source: legislation.gov.uk — The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), reproduced under licence Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it actually says
When an applicant seeks to acquire property under this Part, qualifying tenants who wish to remain with their existing landlord can opt out during the consultation process. If a tenant living in a house gives notice opting out, that house is excluded entirely from the acquisition.
If an opting-out tenant lives in a flat, the acquisition of the building proceeds, but the applicant must immediately grant a lease of that flat back to the existing landlord. This structure ensures that the tenant remains a tenant of their original landlord.
When houses are excluded from the purchase, the acquisition price or disposal cost is adjusted. This adjustment is calculated based on the proportion of habitable rooms in the excluded houses relative to the total number of habitable rooms in all houses in the acquisition.
When it applies
- A house tenant gives notice during consultation that they wish to stay with their existing public landlord, excluding their house from the takeover.
- A flat tenant opts to stay with their current landlord, requiring the new applicant to grant a lease of the flat back to that landlord right after acquiring the property.
- An applicant recalculates the acquisition price by deducting a sum calculated from the ratio of habitable rooms in excluded houses.
What this section does not say
- The requirements and procedure for tenant consultation, which are governed by section 102.
- The applicant's formal notice of intention to proceed after consultation, which is covered under section 103.
- Rules applying to tenancies commenced after the relevant date during an acquisition scheme.
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This page reproduces the text of HA 1988 s. 100 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.