secton 156 housing act 1998

aromatherepy

has anyone ever heard of section 156 of the housing act 1998,its an amendment to do with the deeds of postponement, if so where can i get a copy, i'm trying to get all my facts together to take on my local council, any help would be greatfully recieved.

MortgageMamma

I don't know anyhting about it but you should be able to get it at a public library. will you be taking legal assistance or doing it yourself?

aromatherepy

we've been trying to buy our council house for the past 16 months now been thro 2 banks/bs and now on our third, abbey, we've had the same problems everytime, the deed of postponement, and the clause that states "if" the council want a re-inspection its up the the lender to do it. we only have until 28th aug before the application to the council run out, i've approached both the council and abbey and asked if we could have the ouns put on myself and hubby but both declined, going for just the mortage now without extra, but so peed at been messed about. signed contracts on the 3rd aug funds were supposed to be transferred on the 11th but abbey queried the d.o.p on th 8th. council value on property £85k, buying for £59k, bank value £105k, asking for £81k in total for extension.

homer_j_3

This is something I have quickly found:

To advise members of the change in legislation. Section 188 of the Housing Act
2004 amends s156 of the Housing Act 1985 by introducing a Right of first refusal.
This means that purchasers under the RTB or a voluntary disposal must offer the
property back to the council if they dispose of the property in the prescribed 10-year
period from the date of the RTB sale (applicable to sales after 10 August 2005).
The order bringing this section into force on 10 August 2005 is SI 2005 No 1917 The
Housing (Right of First Refusal) (England) Regulations 2005 and gives the details of
how this Right is to be administered.
The act allows us to
• Reject all offers without referral to nominated persons.
• Refer all offers to nominated persons that we have written agreements with.
• Provide a budget and purchase as many properties as the budget allows.
• Be selective in the properties we purchase so that we only buy properties we really need for our stock.

The council now has a right of first refusal for 10 years on the re-purchase of
dwellings sold under the RTB or voluntary disposal.
The council can exercise this right itself or nominate another person (social landlord)
to exercise this right on their behalf.
Since the introduction of the Housing Act 2004, the freehold disposal and lease
documentation has been amended so that all purchasers after the 10 August will be
aware that if they dispose of the property before 10 years elapses, they will have to
offer the council the first opportunity of purchasing the property before it is offered to
the open market.
NOTE. We are clarifying with Legal Services if the interpretation of the Act means
the first disposal and any subsequent disposal in the 10-year period or simply the
first disposal only.
There is an exemption to this Right where the disposal is an ‘exempt disposal’ as
defined in s160 of the Housing Act 1985. Exempt disposals in effect are:
! Original joint owners to one party only
! To the spouse or former spouse of the owner
! To a family member of the owner who has resided with the owner for the 12
months prior to the disposal
! Disposal under a will/intestacy
! Disposal under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973
! Disposal under a compulsory purchase order
The process to be followed is defined in the Regulations and involves the exchange
of written notices within a limited time-scale. The regulations also detail the
limitations in time that exist if no sale transpires i.e. if the owner did not sell to
anyone following the initial offer then after 12 months in another proposed sale the
same process has to be followed. The council can choose to accept any offer made
by a seller or can nominate another person i.e. a registered social landlord, or a
person who fulfils the landlord condition defined in s80 Housing Act 1985 to accept
on their behalf. That nominated person must have already given an unequivocal
indication in writing that it wishes to be nominated to accept the offer. I think we
would therefore need to enter into written agreements with some or all of our housing
partners as soon as possible in order that we could nominate them in the future.
The valuation of the property will normally be by agreement but either party may
request the District Valuer to determine this.

I also found this for an overview:

Section 156 provides that the liability to repay discount that may arise under a covenant by the tenant which is required by section 155 of the 1985 Act constitutes a legal charge on the dwelling-house but that a legal charge securing an amount advanced to the tenant by an approved lending institution for the purpose of enabling the tenant to exercise the right to buy has priority over it.

Such bodies also become approved lending institutions for the purposes of section 36 of the 1985 Act (priority of charges on voluntary disposals by local authorities) and section 12 of the Housing Act 1996 (priority of charges on voluntary disposals by registered social landlords).

In addition, as section 156 of the Housing Act 1985 is applied by section 171A of that Act to cases in which a tenant's right to buy is preserved and by section 17 of the Housing Act 1996 to cases in which a tenant has the right to acquire under section 16 of that Act, the specified bodies become approved lending institutions for the purposes of those rights.

Google is a wonderful tool....Hope this helps

aromatherepy

many thanks holmer-j. thats great to know. the problem we're having is section c of the deed of postponement which states that if (and its a big if) the council want an inspection of works to ensure monies borrowed are used solely for that which it was borrowed for, it is the responsibility of the lender (ie abbey) to carry out such inspection. the banks we've approached wont agree to this and the council wont amend it, abbey are banging on about wanting it amended so that is unconditional and something about a time limit, but there is no mention of time in the deed????
I was told buy a guy working for abbey that what the council was asking was illeagel that there was an amendment to section 156 of the 1998 housing act the says the council can not put any restriction on a right to buy????
oh no browsing the wed found something called right to buy express completion which bypasses the need for a deed of postponment?????

homer_j_3

I know where you have already bought your council property and want to remortgage, you can get what is called title insurance which means the lender does not worry about seeking pernission on the remortgage.

I dont know if this can be done in purchasing from the council as ultimately they have to sell the property to you and wont do it without this info it seems.

If the abbey are saying it is illegal, has this been confirmed by a solcitor? Have you spoken to the land registry? Maybe these are your next point of contacts?

aromatherepy

solictor knows nothing about it, got my local mp looking in to it for me but wiil also try land registry thanks so much for your help you've been a gem...