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Welsh Statutory Instruments

2015 No. 1320 (W. 118)

Housing, Wales

The Housing (Right to Buy) (Prescribed Forms) (Wales) Regulations 2015

Made

20 January 2015

Coming into force

22 January 2015

The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of powers conferred upon the Secretary of State by section 176(1) and (5) of the Housing Act 1985(1) as extended by section 26(3) of the Welsh Language Act 1993(2) and now vested in them(3).

Title, commencement, application and interpretation

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Housing (Right to Buy) (Prescribed Forms) (Wales) Regulations 2015 and they come into force on 22 January 2015.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

(3) In these Regulations, “the Act” (“y Ddeddf”) means the Housing Act 1985.

Notice claiming to exercise the right to buy

2.  A notice under section 122(1) of the Act(4) is one which is in the form set out in Schedule 1, or in a form substantially to the like effect.

Notice in reply to tenant’s right to buy claim

3.  A notice under section 124(1) of the Act(5) is one which is in the form set out in Schedule 2, or in a form substantially to the like effect.

Initial notice of delay

4.  A notice under section 153A(1) of the Act(6) is one which is in the form set out in Schedule 3, or in a form substantially to the like effect.

Initial notice of delay - landlord’s counter notice

5.  A notice under section 153A(3)(b) of the Act(7) is one which is in the form set out in Schedule 4, or in a form substantially to the like effect.

Operative notice of delay

6.  A notice under section 153A(5) of the Act is one which is in the form set out in Schedule 5, or a form substantially to the like effect.

Prescribed particulars to be contained in the notices

7.  The particulars to be contained in a notice prescribed by regulations 2 to 6 are those required by that form.

Revocations, savings and transitional provisions

8.—(1) The Regulations specified in Schedule 6 are revoked in relation to Wales.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations affects the validity of any notice given before the 22 January 2015 if the notice was given in a form prescribed by any of the Regulations specified in Schedule 6, or in a form substantially to the like effect.

Lesley Griffiths

Minister of Communities and Tackling Poverty, one of the Welsh Ministers

20 January 2015

SCHEDULES

Regulation 2

SCHEDULE 1FORM WRTB1NOTICE CLAIMING TO EXERCISE THE RIGHT TO BUY

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE 2FORM WRTB2NOTICE IN REPLY TO TENANT’S RIGHT TO BUY CLAIM

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE 3FORM WRTB3INITIAL NOTICE OF DELAY

Regulation 5

SCHEDULE 4FORM WRTB4INITIAL NOTICE OF DELAY - LANDLORD’S COUNTER NOTICE

Regulation 6

SCHEDULE 5FORM WRTB5OPERATIVE NOTICE OF DELAY

Regulation 8

SCHEDULE 6REVOCATIONS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe the form of certain notices under Part 5 of the Housing Act 1985 (“the Act”) relating to the right to buy, and the particulars to be contained in those notices.

Regulation 2 and Schedule 1 prescribe the form to be used by a secure tenant claiming to exercise the right to buy in accordance with section 122 of the Act.

Regulation 3 and Schedule 2 prescribe the form to be used by the landlord who has received notice from the tenant claiming to exercise the right to buy. The notice, given under section 124 of the Act, either admits or denies the tenant’s right to buy.

Regulation 4 and Schedule 3 prescribe the form to be used by a tenant who has served the notice claiming to exercise the right to buy where there has been a delay as described in section 153A(1) of the Act.

Regulation 5 and Schedule 4 prescribe the form to be used by a landlord who has been served an initial notice of delay in the circumstances set out in section 153A(3)(b) of the Act.

Regulation 6 and Schedule 5 prescribe the form to be used by a tenant in the circumstances set out in section 153A(5) of the Act.

Regulation 7 prescribes the particulars to be contained in any of the above notices, and regulation 8 revokes the Regulations listed in Schedule 6, which these Regulations replace.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.

(3)

Functions of the Secretary of State, so far as exercisable in relation to Wales, were transferred to the National Assembly for Wales by the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672), article 2 and Schedule 1. Those functions were subsequently transferred to the Welsh Ministers by virtue of paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c.32).

(4)

Section 122(1) has been amended by section 32 of the Housing (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 5).

(5)

Section 124(1) has been amended by section 31 of the Housing (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 5).

(6)

Section 153A was inserted by the Housing Act 1988 (c.50). Subsection (1) has been amended by section 31 of the Housing (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 5) and by section 187 of, and Schedules 21 and 22 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (c.28).

(7)

Section 153A(3) has been amended by Schedule 21 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (c.28).