NOTICE OF INITIAL CONTRIBUTION ETC

HC Deb 21 December 1983 vol 51 cc513-4

Mr. John Fraser

I beg to move amendment No. 7, in page 14, line 24 leave out paragraph (c) and insert— '(c) a copy of the lease the landlord proposes to grant'.

It is better to give the tenant a copy of the proposed lease than a description of the proposed lease. If the local authority wants to give a description to go with the lease, that is fine, but there can be a difference of opinion between a description of the document that the tenant is to have and the document. It would be quicker and more certain to provide the tenant with the draft lease giving a response to his initial notice to purchase.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

The hon. Member for Norwood (Mr. Fraser) made a suggestion similar to that made in amendment No. 7 in Standing Committee during discussion of what is now clause 13 of the Bill. He did not press the matter then, possibly because shortly after he spoke the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) cut the ground from under his feet by making a plea that documents passing between landlords and tenants should be in clear and simple language.

The provisions of clause 13, like those in section 10 of the 1980 Act on which they are modelled, are intended to ensure that the tenant has all the information he needs before deciding whether to proceed with the purchase of his home. The only point between us is whether that purpose is best served by requiring the landlord to send the tenant a full draft lease or whether the precise means of informing the tenants of the provisions to be included in the lease should be left to the discretion of the landlord. At some stage before completion, the tenant must have the full draft lease and he would be well advised to get professional help in assessing it. We have made that clear in our advice to tenants exercising the right to buy.

The point made in Committee by the hon. Member for Walton is one that deserves to be taken seriously. Legal documents can often seem quite impenetrable, even to those of us who deal with them every day. They involve use of technical jargon that is difficult to understand if one is unfamiliar with it. Most tenants will not be familiar with it. For the first time in their lives they will be entering the housing market and, perhaps, even dealing with solicitors for the first time. No doubt many landlords will in practice meet the requirements of clause 13 by sending the tenant a draft lease. Others, however, may wish to be more helpful to the tenant and to summarise in layman's language the basic provisions of the lease. I know that some landlords adopt that practice when sending out section 10 offers under the 1980 Act. I can see the case for such an approach. It is arguably more help to the tenant than the full draft document at such a stage. I do not accept the argument that to proceed in this way need lead to delay. The earlier the tenant fully understands what he is letting himself in for, the less is the chance of last-minute snags and hold-ups. Clause 13, as drafted, will give landlords the same flexibility in this matter as they already have under section 10 of the 1980 Act. I believe that it is right to leave the form of the documentation to their discretion. I therefore ask the House to reject the amendment.

Amendment negatived.