Commentary on Sections Chapter 3 – Extension of Direction Suspending the Right to Buy Section 21 – Decision of the Welsh Ministers on the application
52.Section 21 sets out when the Welsh Ministers may reject an authority’s application for an extension and when they must grant or refuse an application. The Welsh Ministers can reject the application if the authority has failed to provide information under section 27 or if its housing strategy is inadequate in so far as it deals with the imbalance between the demand for and the supply of social housing. They must issue a direction if they agree with the authority’s reasons for concluding that the housing pressure condition exists and that the proposed extension is an appropriate way to address it. The Welsh Ministers must be satisfied that the authority’s proposed future action to reduce the imbalance between the demand for social housing and its supply is likely to contribute to a reduction. The authority must also have consulted properly. If the authority’s application fails to meet any of these conditions, the Welsh Ministers cannot grant the application. If the Welsh Ministers are satisfied as to the adequacy of the action taken to date to reduce the imbalance between the demand for and supply of social housing, and if all the other conditions are met, they must issue a direction but if they are not so satisfied they may refuse the application.