Section 101: Rent not to be increased on account of tenant's improvements., Housing Act 1985

This section applies where a person (the "improving tenant") who is or was the secure tenant of a dwelling-house has lawfully made an improvement and has borne the whole or part of its cost; and for the purposes of this section a person shall be treated as having borne any cost which he would have borne but for a renovation grant or common parts grant under Chapter I of Part I of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (grants for renewal of private sector housing).

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In determining, at any time whilst the improving tenant or his qualifying successor is a secure tenant of the dwelling-house, whether or to what extent to increase the rent, the landlord shall treat the improvement as justifying only such part of an increase which would otherwise be attributable to the improvement as corresponds to the part of the cost which was not borne by the tenant (and accordingly as not justifying an increase if he bore the whole cost).

The following are qualifying successors of an improving tenant—

a person in whom the tenancy was vested, or to whom the tenancy was disposed of, under section 89 (succession to periodic tenancy) or section 90 (devolution of term certain) on the death of the tenant or in the course of the administration of his estate;

a person to whom the tenancy was assigned by the tenant and who would have been qualified to succeed him if he had died immediately before the assignment,

a person to whom the tenancy was assigned by the tenant in pursuance of an order made under—

section 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (property adjustment orders in connection with matrimonial proceedings),

section 17(1) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (property adjustment orders after overseas divorce, &c.), . . .

paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (orders for financial relief against parents) , or

Part 2 of Schedule 5, or paragraph 9(2) or (3) of Schedule 7, to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (property adjustment orders in connection with civil partnership proceedings or after overseas dissolution of civil partnership, etc. )

a spouse, former spouse, civil partner, former civil partner, cohabitant or former cohabitant of the tenant to whom the tenancy has been transferred by an order made under Schedule 1 to the Matrimonial Homes Act 1983 or Schedule 7 to the Family Law Act 1996.

This section does not apply to an increase of rent attributable to rates or to council tax.

Section 101: Rent not to be increased on account of tenant's improvements.

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