Part 1 of the Housing Act 1980 (the "1980 Act") came into force on 3 October 1980. From that date qualifying tenants of local authorities and of most housing associations and some other authorities including the Commission for the New Towns, Development Corporations and the Development Board for Rural Wales became entitled to the right to buy (RTB) the freehold of their houses; or in the case of flats a long leasehold, provided that the authority owned the freehold. There was a contingent right to a mortgage from the landlord or, if the landlord was a housing association from the Housing Corporation. The price paid was calculated by discounting market value by reference to a scale related to the duration of the applicant's tenancy. With the exception of dwellings in certain rural areas, there was no right of pre-emption imposed, but a refund of the discount on a sliding scale was required on re-sale within five years. A separate Right to Buy scheme operates in Scotland.

The 1980 Act as amended was subsequently consolidated into Part V of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985).

This Act applies where the tenant's notice claiming to exercise RTB is served on or after 1 April 1986. In those instances where the tenant's notice was served before 1 April 1986 the previous repealed provisions continue to apply.

The HA 1985 has been amended by various subsequent Acts including the Housing and Planning Act 1986, the Housing Act 1988, the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and the Housing Act 1996.

Tenants must serve a notice under s.122 HA 1985 on their landlord who will check entitlement and obtain a valuation of the dwelling in accordance with s.127. The landlord must then serve a notice under s.125 on the tenant stating among other matters the price and conditions including full details of any service charge and improvement contribution, how the discount has been calculated and the right of the tenant to have the value determined by the DV under s.128. It is understood that a s.125 notice cannot be withdrawn by a landlord authority without the consent of the tenant.

S.125(4A) HA 1985 requires a landlord to include in the s125 notice "a description of any structural defect known to the landlord affecting the dwelling-house or the building in which it is situated or any other building over which the tenant will have rights under the conveyance or lease". Consequently landlords have to set out in their s.125 notice all structural defects of which they are aware for both houses and flats.

Section 125(C) of the HA 1985 requires the landlord to include in his s125 notice in respect of service charges and (in the case of a flat) repair costs, including works for the making good of structural defects, the average annual amount and the aggregate amount that would be payable in the 'reference period'.

Similarly s.125(B) of the HA 1985 requires the landlord to include in his s.125 notice the average annual amount and the aggregate amount that would be payable in the 'reference period' by the tenant in respect of improvements, which are referred to as the 'improvement contribution'.

The 'reference period' begins on a date not more than six months after the s.125 notice and ends five years after that date, or where they are to be calculated by reference to a landlord's specified accounting period with the end of the fifth such period beginning after the notice date (s125C(1) HA 1985). This means that the 'initial period' can be between five and six years long depending on the landlord's accounting year. In the unusual circumstances where a lease provides for payment to be made for charges incurred in a period before its grant the initial period will run from that time.

At the time when the estimates are given by a landlord in the s.125 notice it would not be known when the conveyance or lease is to be granted from, so s.125C(2) requires it to be assumed that the sale would be completed at the beginning of the reference period.

For specified works of repair costs can only be recovered up to the estimates given (together with a prescribed inflation allowance) during the initial period, and may be incurred from time to time rather than in one lump sum. This limitation does not apply to recovery of repair costs incurred after the initial period, even if they were incurred in respect of specified works included in the s.125 notice. For non-itemised other repair work charges cannot exceed the inflated estimates for each year of the initial period. Consequently landlords cannot recover any excess costs above their inflated estimates in respect of repairs carried out within the initial period (para 16B Sch 6 HA 1985 inserted by s.4(4) HPA 1986).

Costs, in respect of specified improvements only, can be recovered under the lease terms up to the estimates given (plus inflation allowance) for improvement contributions during the initial period (para 16C Sch 6 HA 1985 inserted by s.4(4) HPA 1986).

The 'General Consent for the Disposal of Part II Dwelling-houses 1999' allows a local authority in England, inter alia, to dispose of a house to a sitting tenant who has no formal entitlement to RTB, for example, because they have not lived in the house for the relevant qualifying period. The consent sets out the discount available to such purchasers.

Where there are a number of intermediate public sector landlords, s.171 HA 1985 enables the tenant to leap frog the intermediate landlords so as to be able to acquire the freehold. Regulations extending the right to buy in these circumstances have been made by the Housing (Extension of Right to Buy) Order (SI 1993 No 2240).

S.171A HA 1985 preserves the RTB for tenants who cease to be secure on disposal of their dwelling-houses to private sector landlords.

Regulations preserving the right to buy in these circumstances have been made by the Housing (Preservation of Right to Buy) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993 No 2241).

DVs may be asked by the private sector (which includes some quasi-public bodies) to provide s.127 valuations. Where there are the resources available the DV may provide assistance.

S.129 HA 1985 sets out the level of discount that can be claimed by a qualifying tenant purchaser, this being:

a. in the case of a house, 32% plus one per cent for each complete year by which the qualifying period exceeds two years, up to a maximum of 60%;

b. in the case of a flat, 44% plus two per cent for each complete year by which the qualifying period exceeds two years, up to a maximum of 70%.

Sch 4 HA 1985 sets out the periods that can be taken into account to make up the two year qualifying period of residence in the property before the Right to Buy can be exercised and the qualifying period of residence for the calculation of discount on the purchase price.

The Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) Order 1998 (SI 1998 No 2997) came into force on 11 February 1999 and sets out fixed amounts of discount to be applied in England under the Right to Buy ranging from £22,000 to £38,000 according the area of the country in which the dwelling-house is situated. It replaced the Housing (Right to Buy) (Maximum Discount) Order 1989 which fixed the previous limit at £50,000 for both England and Wales.

The Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Wales) Order 1999 (SI 1999 No 292) came into force on 11 March 1999 and fixed the maximum amount of discount to be applied under the Right to Buy at £24,000 for any dwelling-house situated in Wales.

Sch 5 HA 1985 sets out exceptions to the RTB as follows:

1. Where the landlord is a Housing Trust or a Housing Association and is a charity

2. Where the landlord is a co-operative housing association

3. Where the landlord has at no time received housing association grants, management grants, revenue deficit grants, hostel deficit grants or grants by local authorities under specified enactments

4. Where the landlord does not own the freehold or a lease exceeding 21 years in the case of a house, or a lease of not less than 50 years in the case of a flat

5. Where the dwelling-house is let in connection with employment and is situated within the place of employment

6. Where the dwelling-house is specially designed for disabled people and special facilities are provided for the purpose of assisting those persons

7. Where the dwelling-house is one of a group of which it is the practice of the landlord to let for occupation by persons who are suffering from mental disorder and special facilities are provided for the purpose of assisting those persons.

8. Where the dwelling-house is one of a group of which are particularly suitable for occupation by elderly people and special facilities are provided for the purpose of assisting those persons

9. Where the dwelling-house is held by the landlord on a tenancy from the Crown