Amendment of Schedule 5 to Housing Act 1985 HA 1988 s. 123
Omits paragraphs 6 and 8 of Schedule 5 HA 1985 (exceptions to right to buy) with saving for tenant's notice before repeal if no landlord's response under s.124.
Schedule 5 of the Housing Act 1985 (exceptions to the right to buy) shall be amended in accordance with this section. Paragraphs 6 and 8 shall be omitted. Housing Act 1985. The repeal by this Act of paragraphs 6 and 8 of Schedule 5 shall not affect the operation of either of those paragraphs in any case where the tenant’s notice claiming to exercise the right to buy was served before the repeal comes into force unless, at that time, no notice in response had been served under section 124 of the Housing Act 1985 (landlord’s notice admitting or denying right to buy). For the purposes of subsection (3) above, no account shall be taken of any steps taken under section 177 of the Housing Act 1985 (amendment or withdrawal and re-service of notice to correct mistakes).
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
This section removes two exceptions to the right to buy — paragraphs 6 and 8 of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985. Those paragraphs listed types of tenancies or situations where the right to buy did not apply. After this section comes into force, those exceptions no longer exist for new claims.
But there is a saving for tenants who already claimed the right to buy before the repeal took effect. If the tenant served a notice under the right-to-buy procedure before the repeal, and at the time of repeal the landlord had not yet served a notice under section 124 of the Housing Act 1985 (admitting or denying the right), then paragraphs 6 and 8 continue to apply to that tenant's claim as if they had not been repealed.
Any steps taken under section 177 of the Housing Act 1985 to amend or re-serve a notice to correct mistakes are ignored when deciding whether the landlord had responded. This prevents the landlord from avoiding the saving by treating a corrected notice as a new one.
When it applies
- A tenant served a right-to-buy notice in January, before the repeal of paragraphs 6 and 8 took effect. The landlord had not responded by the repeal date. The tenant can still rely on the old exceptions being unavailable.
- A tenant served a right-to-buy notice after the repeal date. The landlord can now rely on the fact that paragraphs 6 and 8 are no longer in force, so those exceptions cannot block the sale.
- A tenant served a notice before repeal, and the landlord had already sent a section 124 notice before repeal. Then the repeal applies, and paragraphs 6 and 8 are removed for that claim.
- A tenant served a notice before repeal, then later amended it under section 177 to correct an error. Even though the amendment happened after the repeal, it is treated as the same original notice, so the saving still applies.
What this section does not say
- This provision does not change any other exceptions to the right to buy listed in Schedule 5 of the Housing Act 1985 — only paragraphs 6 and 8 are removed.
- It does not affect the validity of the tenant's notice or the landlord's duty to respond under section 124 of the Housing Act 1985; only the applicability of the two omitted paragraphs.
- It does not apply to Scotland (see separate provision HA 1988 s.118 for Scotland) or to tenancies outside the right-to-buy scheme.
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This page reproduces the text of HA 1988 s. 123 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.