I read with interest Emma Tarran’s article on the rights to buy and acquire, but I want more (29 October, page 33).

What if a secure tenant of a council who transfers to a registered social landlord after stock transfer subsequently carries out a mutual exchange of tenancies with a person who became a tenant of the RSL after stock transfer. That person would be an assured tenant without the right to buy, so which one has the right to buy after the exchange is complete? I am assuming there is a difference between such a move and the transfer to an empty property described in the article.

I have searched the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts and can find no clear guidance. Does the exchanging protected tenant hand their right to buy to the person they assign the tenancy to or not?

Brian Lambert, area manager Boston Mayflower Housing Association

Source

Housing Today

Postscript

Emma Tarran replies: A tenant cannot hand his preserved right to buy to an assignee, and provided he remains a tenant of the same landlord, his preserved right (which is personal) will not be lost simply as a result of the exchange. An assured tenant does not gain a new preserved right merely by moving into a property once occupied by someone with such a right. If in doubt, talk to your lawyer.