Notice of intention to proceed (HA 1988 s.103)
Rules for notice of intention to proceed with acquisition after s.102 consultation: time limits, required contents, and conditions based on tenant responses.
Subject to subsection (2) below, the applicant may, within two weeks of the end of the period mentioned in section 102 above, serve on the landlord notice of his intention to proceed with the acquisition; and in that notice the applicant, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, may inform the landlord— that he wishes to enter into a prescribed covenant to make payments to the landlord on the occasion of any prescribed disposal (occurring after the date of the acquisition) of a dwelling-house comprised in the property to be acquired; and that he requires the value of that covenant to be taken into account in reducing the price which would otherwise be payable for the property to be acquired. The applicant shall not be entitled to serve a notice under subsection (1) above if, in response to the consultation under section 102 above,— less than 50 per cent. of the tenants to whom that section applies have given notice of their wishes in such manner as may be prescribed; or the number of tenants to whom that section applies who have given notice in that manner of their wish to continue as tenants of the landlord exceeds 50 per cent. of the total number of tenants to whom that section applies. In any case where a tenancy is held by two or more persons jointly, those persons shall be regarded as a single tenant for the purposes of subsection (2) above and, accordingly, any notice given in response to the consultation under section 102 above shall be of no effect for the purposes of subsection (2) above unless it is given by or on behalf of all the joint tenants. A notice under subsection (1) above shall contain— a list of the names and addresses of tenants to whom section 102 above applies (if any) who have given notice as mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above; a list of the houses (if any) which are, by virtue of regulations under section 100 above, to be excluded from the acquisition; a list of flats (if any) of which the applicant is required, by virtue of such regulations, to grant leases to the landlord and a statement of the proposed terms of those leases; such information as may be necessary to show how the lists mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) above were established; . . . the price payable for the property to be acquired (disregarding any reduction by virtue of such a covenant as is referred to in subsection (1) above) or, as the case may be, the disposal cost attributable to that property and if there is a disposal cost attributable to that property and the landlord has notified the applicant as mentioned in section 99(7) above of his intention to pay the disposal cost by instalments, either a statement of the basis on which, in accordance with regulations under section 104(2A) below, the disposal cost is to be paid by instalments or a statement that the disposal cost is not such that those regulations permit it to be paid by instalments . Within two weeks of service of the notice under subsection (1) above, the landlord shall notify the applicant in writing of any matters stated in that notice which it does not accept. Where a notice has been served under subsection (1) above, every tenant to whom section 102 above applies and who has not given notice as mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above shall be taken to have accepted, and to have given consideration for, any offer which— relates to the terms on which, after the acquisition, he is to occupy the dwelling-house occupied by him on the relevant date; was made to him by the applicant either in the course of the consultation required by subsection (1) of section 102 above or otherwise before the end of the period referred to in that subsection; and was neither withdrawn by the applicant nor rejected by the tenant before the end of that period. Regulations prescribing any of the matters referred to in subsection (1) above shall also make provision with respect to the determination of the amounts which are to be payable on the occasion of prescribed disposals; and the amount of any reduction in the price payable for the property to be acquired which is attributable to such a covenant as is referred to in that subsection shall be determined by the district valuer.
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
The applicant may serve a 'notice of intention to proceed' only within two weeks after the end of the consultation period under section 102. The notice cannot be served if fewer than 50% of the tenants consulted gave their wishes, or if more than 50% of those tenants said they want to stay as tenants of the landlord. Joint tenants count as one tenant for this test.
The notice must include lists of tenants who wish to continue, houses excluded from the acquisition, flats for which leases must be granted, and information showing how these lists were compiled. It must also state the price or disposal cost (with instalment details if applicable). Within two weeks of receiving the notice, the landlord must notify the applicant in writing of any points it disagrees with.
If a notice is served, any tenant who did not express a wish to stay as a tenant is deemed to have accepted any earlier offer from the applicant about post-acquisition occupation terms, unless the offer was withdrawn or rejected before the consultation period ended.
The provision also allows the applicant to include a covenant to make payments to the landlord on future disposals, and the reduction in price for such a covenant is determined by the district valuer.
When it applies
- A group of tenants (the applicant) wants to buy the building and needs to serve notice to proceed after consulting other tenants.
- The landlord challenges the notice because fewer than half the tenants responded to the consultation.
- A joint tenant's notice is invalid because it wasn't signed by all joint tenants.
- A tenant who didn't respond to the consultation is later told they are deemed to have accepted an offer from the applicant.
- The applicant includes a covenant to pay the landlord a share of future sale proceeds, and the district valuer calculates the reduction in purchase price.
What this section does not say
- The process for a landlord to evict a tenant (see other parts of the act).
- The right of a single tenant to buy their own flat (this section deals with group acquisitions).
- The calculation of the purchase price itself (addressed in other sections or by valuation).
- Rules for how tenants should respond to the consultation (covered by section 102).
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This page reproduces the text of HA 1988 s. 103 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.