Beware right to buy delays

In the case of Hanoman v Southwark London Borough Council, the House of Lords held that housing benefit from the local authority did constitute a 'payment of rent' for the purposes of s153B Housing Act 1985. This is a provision allowing such payments to be attributable to the purchase price of the property when a secure tenant is exercising a right-to-buy, and where there has been delay on the part of the landlord.

Wragge & Co's real estate experts provide an analysis of this case.