The Right to Purchase (Application Form) (Scotland) Order 1993

Made: 3rd September 1993

Coming into force: 27th September 1993

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 63(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987[^f00001] and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:–

Citation, commencement and revocation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Right to Purchase (Application Form) (Scotland) Order 1993 and shall come into force on 27th September 1993.

• (2) The Right to Purchase (Application Form) (Scotland) Order 1986[^f00002] is hereby revoked.

2

The notice to be served under section 63(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (application to purchase) shall be in the form specified in the Schedule to this Order.

SCHEDULE — APPLICATION TO PURCHASE YOUR HOME

Before filling in any part of this form please read the notes relating to that part. The notes are not a complete or authoritative statement of law. If you need further guidance, you should consult your solicitor, or ask your landlord or local citizens' advice bureau for advice.

You may find it helpful to read The Scottish Office Environment Department leaflet “Your Right to Buy Your Home”. You can get a copy from your landlord, local citizens' advice bureau or by writing to The Scottish Office Environment Department, Housing Division, Room 401, St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh EH1 3DE or telephone 031 244 2857 or 2021.

If you would like advice on any aspect of the right to buy or rent to mortgage, you should consider taking legal advice or discuss the matter with your local citizens' advice bureau, to make sure that you are fully aware of the implications and that your interests are protected. This is particularly relevant if you have been approached by an independent third party to buy your home in return for handing over ownership of the property at a later date. If you need assistance to complete this form, it is available free of charge from your landlord.

When you have completed this form, take it or send it by recorded delivery to your landlord. If you take it by hand, ask for a receipt. Keep a copy of the completed form for yourself.

Notes

1

Secure tenants of local authorities, Scottish Homes, new town development corporations, registered housing associations, police authorities and fire authorities normally have the right to buy their homes.

2

You cannot buy your home under rent to mortgage if you live in a designated defective property or if you are receiving, or in the process of applying for housing benefit in the 12 months before the application to purchase.

3

If you claimed housing benefit in the last 12 months or a claim was made on your behalf but this claim has not been determined or withdrawn, it will be necessary to find out if the claim is successful before deciding if you can buy your home on rent to mortgage terms. If you claim housing benefit after applying to buy on rent to mortgage terms, you should inform your landlord immediately.

4

Your home will be valued by either a qualified valuer nominated by your landlord and acceptable to you, or the district valuer. If you do not want to accept your landlord’s valuer the property will automatically be valued by the district valuer.

5

If you do not accept an offer to sell within the appropriate time limits and you do not take up the fixed price option–available only to those not purchasing under rent to mortgage–your position as a tenant will not be affected in any way. You are entitled to submit a further application to purchase whenever you wish.

Notes

Notes

6

In general, under rent to mortgage, if you are the tenant of a house and you have the 2 year period needed to qualify to buy, you will be entitled to a discount of 17%. You may also be entitled to an extra 1% discount for each complete year over the 2 years. So if, for instance, you have been a public sector tenant for 10 years, your discount could be 25%. The maximum discount for houses under this scheme is 45% after 30 years tenancy.

7

In general, if you are a tenant of a flat and you have the 2 year period needed to qualify to buy, you will be entitled to a discount of 29%. You may also be entitled to an extra 2% discount for each complete year over the 2 years. So if, for instance, you have been a public sector tenant for 5 years, your discount could be 35%. The maximum discount for flats is 55% after 15 years tenancy.

8

Your discount may be restricted if your house has been built or improved in the period of around 5 years before the date of service of the application to purchase. In many cases, you may still be entitled to buy your home at less than its market value, but you may not qualify for full discount.

Present and previous tenancies

If you are married and living with your husband or wife

If you are separated or have been divorced

If your husband or wife has died and you were living together when he or she died

Tenants who have succeeded to a public sector tenancy from a parent

Purchaser’s name

Note

Description of improvement

Notes

What happens next?

Landlords for Time Entitlement and Discount

Signed

James Douglas-Hamilton — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, The Scottish Office — 3rd September 1993

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order revokes the Right to Purchase (Application Form) (Scotland) Order 1986 and prescribes another form of notice which is to be used by any secure tenant within the meaning of Part III of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, when exercising the right to purchase his dwellinghouse conferred on him by section 61 of that Act. The notice in this Order has been redesigned and takes account of amendments made to the “right to buy” provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 principally in respect of the rent to loan scheme and the periods of occupation. The notice contains–

• (a) a statement that the tenant or joint tenants wish to exercise the right to purchase;

• (b) a statement of consent to the exercise of that right by his spouse or their spouses or of any joint tenant who does not wish to share in the exercise of that right;

• (c) the names of any joint purchasers included or proposed for inclusion by the tenant or tenants;

• (d) a statement of the periods of occupation of publicly owned housing on which the tenant or tenants base their claim to the right to purchase and to discount; and

• (e) the details of any improvements made to the dwellinghouse by the tenant.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1987 c. 26; section 63(1) was amended by section 143(1) and (2)(a) of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (c. 28).

[^f00002]: S.I. 1986/2138.