§ Mr. Knowlesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 on the right to buy will be brought into force.
§ Mr. John PattenA commencement order will shortly be made bringing sections 1 to 4 into operation on 7 January. From that date the discount scale for flats bought under the right to buy will run from 44 per cent. by 2 per cent. steps to 70 per cent., and there will be new protections against unexpectedly high service charges. For both houses and flats the period during which there is a liability to repay discount on resale will go down from five to three years. This will apply to former tenants who have already bought their homes at a discount, provided that they do not sell before 7 January.
Section 5, which concerns loans in respect of service charges, and section 8, which provides for the right to buy to be preserved when tenanted property is transferred to the private sector, will be brought into force early next year when the regulations for which the sections provided have been prepared.