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Case 4 : Dundalk council house tenant gets right to buy dwelling upheld.

I received a complaint that Dundalk Town Council had refused to allow a tenant to buy the dwelling he was renting. The council refused to consent to the sale on the grounds that the house was designated as an old persons dwelling and therefore did not come within the scope of the tenant purchase scheme. The complainant argued that the council's decision not to allow him to buy the house on the grounds that it was an old persons dwelling was incorrect because it had never been occupied by an elderly person.

In the interests of maintaining a supply of dwellings suitable for occupation by elderly persons within local authority housing stock, dwellings which are designed for and occupied by elderly persons are excluded from the tenant purchase scheme. Article 13 of the Housing (Sale of Dwellings) Regulations 1995 sets out certain classes of houses to be excluded from the tenant purchase scheme including a dwelling that has been 'specifically designed for occupation by one or more elderly persons and is so occupied". Dundalk Town Council's tenant purchase scheme mirrors the provisions of the Regulations.

While accepting that there are sound public interest reasons for local authorities to maintain a supply of dwellings which are designed to cater for the needs of elderly persons, the question arose in this case as to whether the house in question could be classified as an old persons dwelling. Since its construction the tenancy of this house had been held by persons who could not be regarded as elderly and the complainant was aged in his forties. The house did not fall within the class of houses that could be described as being provided for and occupied by elderly persons. The council's decision to exclude the house from the tenant purchase scheme on the basis that it was an old persons dwelling was therefore not in accordance with either the council's own tenant purchase scheme or the relevant legislation.

A second reason advanced by the council for refusing to the sell the house was that the sale would not be in the interests of good estate management. While the law allows the council discretion to refuse to sell a house where it considers that the sale would not be in the interests of good estate management, I had concerns in this case that the council was not exercising its discretion reasonably.

The law affording the council discretion to refuse to sell a house where the sale would not be in the interests of good estate management was introduced for sound public interest reasons.  However, the council did not demonstrate how the sale in this instance would be contrary to good estate management. The council provided no evidence to show how the decision to refuse to sell the house would either secure or promote the interests of its tenants, or avoid or prevent anti-social behaviour. The refusal to sell the property on the grounds of good estate management could not be justified by the council's policy objective of seeking to retain a supply of small dwellings within its housing stock. While the policy of ensuring that there is an adequate supply of small houses within the rental housing stock is reasonable, a ban on the sale of any small dwelling was not soundly based in law and gave rise to significant implications for the tenants of such dwellings. The complainant in this case was not advised at the time he was allocated the tenancy, or at any time prior to making his tenant purchase application, that his house was not eligible for inclusion in the tenant purchase scheme and he understood that he had the same rights as other tenants when it came to purchasing his house. In addition, as dwellings of this type are primarily occupied by single individuals, or couples without children, questions arose as to whether such a policy discriminated against those tenants on the grounds of family status.

In summary, on the basis that the house was not specifically designed for and occupied by an elderly person and as it has not been shown that the sale of the house would be contrary to good estate management, I formed the view that the council's decision to refuse to sell the house to the complainant, was not in accordance with the relevant legislation or the council's own tenant purchase scheme. I concluded that the complainant had been adversely affected by the council's decision and that the council's decision was improperly discriminatory and contrary to fair or sound administration.

I therefore requested that the council review its decision. The council indicated that it remained anxious to retain this particular house within its housing stock as it was, for a number of reasons, very suitable for elderly persons. Following discussions with my Office and with the complainant, the council agreed to transfer the tenant to an alternative small dwelling which it would be agreeable to sell under the tenant purchase scheme. The complainant was satisfied with this outcome.

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