# Housing Act 1985, Paragraph 4


The right to buy does not arise unless the landlord owns the freehold or has an interest sufficient to grant a lease in pursuance of this Part for—
(a) where the dwelling-house is a house, a term exceeding 21 years, or
(b) where the dwelling-house is a flat, a term of not less than 50 years,
commencing, in either case, with the date on which the tenant’s notice claiming to exercise the right to buy is served.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/schedule/5/paragraph/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/housing-act-1985/schedule-5/paragraph-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.