Tenant's sanction for landlord's delays - HA 1988 s. 124
Procedure for a tenant to serve an initial notice of delay when landlord fails to act, and then an operative notice that triggers s.153B for rent payments.
After section 153 of the Housing Act 1985 there shall be inserted the following sections— Where a secure tenant has claimed to exercise the right to buy, he may serve on his landlord a notice (in this section referred to as an “initial notice of delay”) in any of the following cases, namely,— where the landlord has failed to serve a notice under section 124 within the period appropriate under subsection (2) of that section; where the tenant’s right to buy has been established and the landlord has failed to serve a notice under section 125 within the period appropriate under subsection (1) of that section; where the tenant has claimed to exercise the right to be granted a shared ownership lease and the landlord has failed to serve a notice under section 146 within the period of the four weeks required by that section; where the tenant’s right to a shared ownership lease has been established and the landlord has failed to serve a notice under section 147 within the period of the eight weeks required by that section; or where the tenant considers that delays on the part of the landlord are preventing him from exercising expeditiously his right to buy or his right to be granted a shared ownership lease; and where an initial notice of delay specifies any of the cases in paragraphs (a) to (d), any reference in this section or section 153B to the default date is a reference to the end of the period referred to in the paragraph in question or, if it is later, the day appointed for the coming into force of section 124 of the Housing Act 1988. An initial notice of delay— shall specify the most recent action of which the tenant is aware which has been taken by the landlord pursuant to this Part of this Act; and shall specify a period (in this section referred to as “the response period”), not being less than one month, beginning on the date of service of the notice, within which the. service by the landlord of a counter notice under subsection (3) will have the effect of cancelling the initial notice of delay. Within the response period specified in an initial notice of delay or at any time thereafter, the landlord may serve on the tenant a counter notice in either of the following circumstances— if the initial notice specifies any of the cases in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (1) and the landlord has served, or is serving together with the counter notice, the required notice under section 124, section 125, section 146 or section 147, as the case may be; or if the initial notice specifies the case in subsection (1)(e) and there is no action under this Part which, at the beginning of the response period, it was for the landlord to take in order to allow the tenant expeditiously to exercise his right to buy or his right to be granted a shared ownership lease and which remains to be taken at the time of service of the counter notice. A counter notice under subsection (3) shall specify the circumstances by virtue of which it is served. At any time when— the response period specified in an initial notice of delay has expired, and the landlord has not served a counter notice under subsection (3), the tenant may serve on the landlord a notice (in this section and section153B referred to as an “operative notice of delay”) which shall state that section 153B will apply to payments of rent made by the tenant on or after the default date or, if the initial notice of delay specified the case in subsection (1)(e), the date of the service of the notice. If, after a tenant has served an initial notice of delay, a counter notice has been served under subsection (3), then, whether or not the tenant has also served an operative notice of delay, if any of the cases in subsection (1) again arises, the tenant may serve a further initial notice of delay and the provisions of this section shall apply again accordingly.
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 gives a secure tenant who has claimed the right to buy a way to complain about delays by the landlord. The tenant can serve an "initial notice of delay" in five specific cases: the landlord missed the deadline for a notice under section 124, section 125, section 146, or section 147 of the Housing Act 1985, or the tenant considers that the landlord's delays are preventing the right to buy or shared ownership lease from being exercised expeditiously. The notice must specify the last action taken by the landlord and set a response period of at least one month.
If within that response period the landlord serves a counter notice showing that the missing notice has now been served or that there is no outstanding action, the initial notice is cancelled. If the landlord does not serve a counter notice, the tenant can serve an "operative notice of delay", which states that section 153B will apply to all rent payments made on or after the default date. The default date depends on which case triggered the initial notice.
If a counter notice was served but the same problem recurs, the tenant can serve a further initial notice and the whole process starts again. This section does not define what section 153B does; it only sets out the procedure for triggering its application to rent payments.
When it applies
- Landlord fails to serve a notice under section 124 within the period required after the tenant claims the right to buy.
- Tenant's right to buy is established but the landlord misses the deadline for serving a notice under section 125.
- Tenant claims a shared ownership lease and the landlord does not serve a notice under section 146 within four weeks.
- Tenant's right to a shared ownership lease is established but the landlord fails to serve a notice under section 147 within eight weeks.
- Tenant feels that the landlord's general delays are preventing him from exercising the right to buy or shared ownership lease expeditiously.
What this section does not say
- This section does not set the time limits for the landlord's notices; those are in the Housing Act 1985 sections it references.
- It does not spell out what happens after an operative notice of delay is served; that is covered by section 153B of the Housing Act 1988.
- It does not apply to tenants who are not secure tenants or who have not yet claimed the right to buy.
- It does not provide a remedy for other types of landlord delay beyond the five listed cases.
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This page reproduces the text of HA 1988 s. 124 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.