Think Tank

Often, once tenants receive the official notice telling them the price they need to pay less the discount, they withdraw their application – they are just interested in knowing how much it would cost, but with little intention or financial ability of seeing it through. But we are obliged to see the process through until they decide to withdraw. We are also having to pay for the revaluation when they appeal against the initial valuation. Can we recover these costs from the tenant? Also, if we used the district valuer for the initial valuation, would the tenant have to accept this valuation with no right of appeal?

When a tenant applies to exercise the right to acquire, it is the duty of the landlord to provide a notice including, among other things, a valuation and there is no requirement on the tenant to contribute to the cost of it. As such, there is no direct means by which the landlord can recoup valuation charges. The landlord's notice must set out the tenant's right to have the estimate of the value of the dwelling referred to the district valuer. The right of an appeal against the landlord's valuation to the district valuer cannot be negated merely because the landlord may choose to use the district valuer to make the initial valuation.

If the tenant chooses to exercise their right to appeal to the district valuer, they must, within 12 weeks of having the valuation of the property determined or re-determined, serve notice of their intention to pursue the right to acquire. If they fail to do this, the landlord is entitled to request this notice within 28 days, after which the tenant's notice to exercise the right to acquire is deemed to have been withdrawn. But there is nothing preventing the tenant serving a fresh notice to exercise the right and starting the whole process again, at any time, in pursuit of a more favourable valuation.

If the tenants do serve notice of their intention to exercise the right to acquire, they have 12 months from the date of the landlord's notice in which to complete. After this, the landlord has a duty to serve two separate notices to complete on the tenant, following which the tenant's notice to exercise the right is deemed to have been withdrawn. But there is no limit on the number of times a tenant may apply to exercise the right to acquire.

Rosemary Hart, Partner and housing specialist, Trowers & Hamlins

Panel was wrong about assigning joint tenancies
The answer given to one of the questions in the 19 March Think Tank is not entirely accurate ("How should I confirm tenancy succession?"). It is not possible in law to assign a tenancy to one's self and another.

It is possible to assign a tenancy to another person and following that assignment, the former tenant ceases to have any legal interest in the property. Accordingly, an assignment from one sole tenant to another person so that they both become joint tenants is simply not possible in law. The sole tenancy must be brought to an end. The landlord cannot bring the tenancy to an end where the tenancy is a secure or assured tenancy. The sole tenant can bring the sole tenancy to an end by surrendering the tenancy or by serving a notice to quit.

Once the tenancy has been ended by surrender or by notice to quit, the landlord can grant a joint tenancy to the former sole tenant and the other person. If the tenancy in question is a local authority tenancy, the granting of a new tenancy to the new joint tenant is effectively an allocation, as the council will be selecting a person to be a new secure tenant of the authority. There must be a provision in the allocation scheme that allows for a sole tenancy to be ended and a joint tenancy of the same dwelling to be granted, because otherwise the grant of the joint tenancy will be ultra vires.

Abimbola Badejo, barrister, Lawrence Graham Solicitors