The Court of Appeal has recently ruled that a tenant who wishes to purchase his or her property under the ‘right to buy’ legislation cannot require the landlord to carry out remedial works to the property as a precondition of complying with a notice to complete.
Emma Ryan had sought to force Islington Borough Council to make repairs to her flat, arguing that her request for the repairs to be made was a ‘relevant outstanding matter’, which had to be dealt with before she could complete the purchase of the flat.
The Court ruled that it was not a natural use of language to include repairs in relevant outstanding matters, which are those which have yet to be determined or agreed.