Housing Act 1964

his liability shall be limited to the total amount of the money which he has, or has had, in his hands as aforesaid.

• (2) If the person served with an improvement notice was only properly served as being an agent or trustee for some other person, the said expenses may be recovered by the local authority under subsection (1) of this section either from him or from that other person, or as to part from him and as to the remainder from that other person.

• (3) Expenses recoverable by the local authority under subsection (1) of this section shall carry interest at the rate, or the highest rate, for the time being fixed under section 10(6) of the Act of 1957.

A demand for the expenses so recoverable, together with interest so payable, shall be served on the person on whom the improvement notice was served, and interest shall be payable from the date when the demand is so served until payment.

• (4) The amount of any expenses and interest thereon due to a local authority under this section shall, as from the date when the demand under subsection (3) of this section becomes operative, be a charge on the. premises in respect of which the expenses were incurred, and on all estates and interests in those premises, and the local authority shall for the purpose of enforcing that charge have all the same powers and remedies under the Law of Property Act 1925 and otherwise as if they were mortgagees by deed having powers of sale and lease, of accepting surrenders of leases and of appointing a receiver.

The power of appointing a receiver under this subsection shall be exercisable at any time after the expiration of one month from the date when the said demand becomes operative.

• (5) On the date on which a local authority under subsection (3) of this section serve a demand for expenses incurred by them, they shall also serve a copy of the demand on any person who is to their knowledge an owner or lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling or other premises to which the improvement notice relates; and within twenty-one days from that date any person may appeal to the county court against the demand.

On the appeal no question may be raised which might have been raised on an appeal against the improvement notice (or, in the case of a final improvement notice, against the relevant suspended improvement notice).

• (6) Any such demand shall, if no appeal is brought under the last foregoing subsection, become operative on the expiration of twenty-one days from the date of service of the demand ; and any such demand as respects which an appeal is so brought shall, if and so far as it is confirmed on appeal, become operative on the final determination of the appeal.

For the purposes of this subsection the withdrawal of an appeal shall be deemed to be a final determination thereof having the like effect as a decision confirming the demand appealed against.

• (7) Any such demand shall, subject to the right of appeal conferred by subsection (5) of this section, be final and conclusive as to any matters which can be raised on such an appeal.

• (8) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Recovery of expenses incurred by local authority in England and Wales on default by person giving undertaking

30

• (1) Any expenses reasonably incurred by the local authority under section 28 of this Act in carrying out works to which that section applied as being works as respects which an undertaking was accepted under this Part of this Act, together with interest from the date when a demand for the expenses is served until payment, may be recovered by them by action from the person who gave the undertaking.

• (2) Interest under this section shall be at the rate, or the highest rate, for the time being fixed under section 10(6) of the Act of 1957.

• (3) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Recovery of expenses incurred by local authority in Scotland

31

• (1) Subsections (3), (4) and (5) of section 8 of the Act of 1950 (which relate to the recovery by a local authority of expenses incurred by them in executing works on an insanitary house) shall, subject to any necessary modifications, apply for the purpose of enabling a local authority to recover any expenses reasonably incurred by them under section 28 of this Act in carrying out works in pursuance of that section as they apply for the purpose of enabling a local authority to recover the first-mentioned expenses, so, however, that the person from whom expenses incurred by a local authority in carrying out works in pursuance of the said section 28 may be recovered shall, in the case of works to which that section applied as being works as respects which an undertaking was accepted under this Part of this Act, be the person who gave the undertaking.

• (2) Section 16 of the Act of 1950 (appeals) shall apply in relation to a demand by a local authority for the recovery of expenses incurred by them in carrying out works in pursuance of section 28 of this Act and in relation to an order made by a local authority with respect to any such expenses.

• (3) This section shall not apply in relation to the recovery by a local authority of any expenses so far as such expenses are by any direction of the sheriff on appeal recoverable under an order of the sheriff.

Charging orders in favour of persons carrying out works in England and Wales

32

Sections 14 and 15 of the Act of 1957 (charging orders in favour of owner executing works) shall apply as if any reference to works required to be executed by a notice under Part II of that Act included a reference to works required to be carried out by an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice.

Charging orders in Scotland

33

• (1) Where any person has completed, in respect of any dwelling, any works required to be executed by an improvement notice or any works as respects which an undertaking was accepted under this Part of this Act, he may apply to the local authority for a charging order, and subsections (2) to (4) of section 20, and section 21, of the Act of 1950 shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to any such application or order as they apply in relation to an application or order under the said section 20 and as if any reference in the said section 21 to Part II of the Act of 1950 included a reference to this Part of this Act.

• (2) Where under section 28 of this Act a local authority have themselves incurred expenses in the execution of works, it shall be competent for them to make a charging order in favour of themselves in respect of such expenses, and subsections (2) to (4) of section 20, and section 21, of the Act of 1950 shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to a charging order so made in like manner as they apply to a charging order made under the said section 20 and as if any reference in the said section 21 to Part II of the Act of 1950 included a reference to this Part of this Act.

Relations between lessors and lessees

Adjustment of relations between lessors and lessees

34

• (1) Where a person who incurs expenditure in complying with an improvement notice is a lessor of the premises to which the notice relates, he may apply to the county court for an increase of the rent payable under the lease (not being controlled rent) and the court, after giving to the lessee and any sub-lessee an opportunity of being heard, and having regard to the amount of the expenditure, to any transfer of the burden of the expenditure from the lessor to any other person and to all the other circumstances, may, if the court thinks fit, make such an order for the variation of the lease by an increase of the rent payable under the lease as will in the opinion of the court afford an appropriate return in respect of the expenditure.

• (2) This section shall not authorise the county court to increase the rent payable to the landlord in respect of an agricultural holding as defined in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948.

• (3) In this section " controlled rent" means rent which is subject to a limit imposed by the Rent Act 1957 or any other enactment.

• (4) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to Scotland, but this section shall not authorise the sheriff to increase the rent payable to the landlord in respect of—

• (a) an agricultural holding within the meaning of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949, or

• (b) a croft within the meaning of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955, or

• (c) a holding within the meaning of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Acts 1886 to 1931.

Rent limit in Rent Act 1957 in England and Wales: increase for improvement under Part II

35

• (1) In the case of an improvement effected in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or final improvement notice or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act, section 5 of the Rent Act 1957 (increase for improvements) shall have effect subject to the provisions of this section.

• (2) If—

• (a) the landlord, or a predecessor in title of the landlord, is the person who expended money on the improvement, and

• (b) a standard grant under section 4 of the Act of 1959 in respect of the improvement, although obtainable, has not been obtained,

the said section 5(4) (under which, as amended by section 27 of the Act of 1959, the making of a standard grant reduces the increase of rent authorised by that section) shall apply as if that standard grant had been obtained.

• (3) In any proceedings relating to the increase authorised by the said section 5 in respect of the improvement it shall be assumed, until the contrary is proved, that a standard grant was obtainable in respect of the improvement.

• (4) The local authority shall, at the request in writing of the landlord or the tenant, give to him an estimate in writing of what the amount of the standard grant would have been if it had been obtained, and for the purposes of any such proceedings that estimate shall be sufficient evidence of what that amount would have been.

• (5) Section 25 of the Rent Act 1957 shall apply for the interpretation of this section.

Increase in controlled rent in Scotland in respect of improvement under Part II

36

• (1) In the case of an improvement effected in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act, section 2(1)(a) of the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act 1920 (increase for improvements) shall have effect subject to the provisions of this section.

• (2) If a standard grant under section 19 of the Act of 1959 in respect of the improvement, although obtainable, has not been obtained, the said section 2(1)(a) (under which the amount of the permitted increase in rent in respect of expenditure incurred by the landlord on the improvement of a dwelling-house to which the said Act of 1920 applies is limited to an amount calculated at a rate per annum not exceeding twelve and one half per cent. of the amount so expended) shall apply as if for the reference therein to the amount expended on the improvement there were substituted a reference to that amount diminished by a sum equal to what the amount of the said standard grant would have been if it had been obtained.

• (3) In any proceedings relating to the increase permitted by the said section 2(1)(a) in respect of the improvement it shall be assumed, until the contrary is proved, that a standard grant was obtainable in respect of the improvement.

• (4) The local authority shall, at the request in writing of the landlord or the tenant, give to him an estimate in writing of what the amount of the standard grant would have been if it had been obtained, and for the purposes of any such proceedings that estimate shall be sufficient "evidence of what that amount would have been.

• (5) In this section " landlord " and " tenant" have the same meanings respectively as in the said Act of 1920.

Amendments of Agricultural Holdings Act 1948

37

• (1) Section 9 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948 (increases of rent for improvements carried out by landlord) shall apply as if references in subsection (1) of that section to improvements carried out at the request of the tenant included references to improvements carried out in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or final improvement notice 6r an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act:

Provided that where the tenant has contributed to the cost incurred by the landlord in carrying out the improvement, the increase in rent provided for by the said section 9 shall be reduced proportionately.

• (2) Any works carried out in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or final improvement notice or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act shall be included among the improvements specified in paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948 (tenant's right to compensation for erection, alteration or enlargement of buildings), but subject to the power conferred by section 78 of that Act to amend the said Schedule 3 ; and section 49 of that Act (which makes that right to compensation conditional on the landlord consenting to the carrying out of the improvements) shall not apply to any works carried out in compliance with such a notice or undertaking.

• (3) Where a person other than the tenant claiming compensation has contributed to the cost of carrying out the works in compliance with any such notice or undertaking, compensation in respect of the works, as assessed under section 48 of the said Act of 1948, shall be reduced proportionately.

Adjustment of relations between lessors and lessees of agricultural holdings, etc., in Scotland

38

• (1) Section 8 of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949 (increases of rent for improvements carried out by landlord) shall apply as if references in subsection (1) of that section to improvements carried out at the request of the tenant included references to improvements carried out in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act:

Provided that where the tenant has contributed to the cost incurred by the landlord in carrying out the improvement, the increase in rent provided for by the said section 8 shall be reduced proportionately.

• (2) Any works carried out in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act shall be included among the improvements specified in paragraph 18 of Schedule 1 to the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949 (tenant's right to compensation for erection, alteration or enlargement of buildings), but subject to the power conferred by section 79 of that Act to vary the said Schedule 1; and sections 51 and 52 of that Act (which make that right to compensation subject to certain conditions) shall not apply to any works carried out in compliance with such a notice or undertaking:

Provided that where a person other than the tenant claiming compensation has contributed to the cost of carrying out the works in compliance with any such notice or undertaking, compensation in respect of the works, as assessed under section 49 of the said Act of 1949, shall be reduced proportionately.

• (3) Any works carried out in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act shall—

• (a) if carried out on a croft within the meaning of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955, be permanent improvements on that croft and be deemed to be suitable to the croft for the purposes of section 14(1)(a) of the said Act of 1955 (crofter's right to compensation for improvements),

• (b) if carried out on a holding within the meaning of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Acts 1886 to 1931, be permanent improvements on that holding and be deemed to be suitable to the holding for the purposes of section 8(a) of the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 (landholder's right to compensation for improvements),

and accordingly, after paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 to the said Act of 1955, and after paragraph 1 of the Schedule to the said Act of 1886 (both of which Schedules relate to permanent improvements), there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(1A) Works carried out in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice served, or an undertaking accepted, under Part II of the Housing Act 1964

.

Other supplemental provisions

Provisions as to carrying out of works

39

• (1) The person having control of any premises—(a) which consist of or comprise a dwelling in an improvement area which is without all or any of the standard amenities, or

• (b) which consist of or comprise a dwelling in respect of which representations have been made by the tenant under section 19(1) of this Act, or

• (c) which consist of a tenement block in respect of which a preliminary notice has been served,

shall, as against any other person having an estate or interest in the premises, have the right to enter the premises in order to carry out any survey or examination required with a view to providing the dwelling or, as the case may be, any of the dwellings in the tenement block, with any of the standard amenities.

• (2) After service of an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice in respect of any dwelling or tenement block, the person having control of the dwelling or, as the case may be, the tenement block shall have the right, as against any other person having an estate or interest in the premises, to take any reasonable steps for the purpose of complying with the improvement notice; and any person bound by an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act shall have the right as against the occupier of the premises to which the undertaking relates to take any reasonable steps for the purpose of complying with the undertaking.

• (3) Section 161 of the Act of 1957 (penalty for preventing execution of works) shall apply as if any reference in that section to Part II of that Act included a reference to this Part of this Act.

• (4) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the carrying out of works in pursuance of an improvement notice or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act shall not give rise to any liability on the part of a lessee to reinstate the premises at any time in the condition in which they were before the works were carried out, or to any liability for failure so to reinstate the premises.

• (5) In the application of this section to Scotland—

• (a) in subsections (1) and (2), the references to a tenement block shall be omitted ;

• (b) in subsection (3), for the reference to the Act of 1957 there shall be substituted a reference to the Act of 1950.

Further powers and duties of local authority

40

• (1) Section 159 of the Act of 1957 (which confers powers of entry on local authorities for the purposes mentioned in that section) shall apply to entry for the purpose of survey and examination of any dwelling with a view to ascertaining whether the requirements of any improvement notice served, or undertaking accepted, under this Part of this Act have been complied with.

• (2) A local authority may by agreement with a person having control of a dwelling or any other person having an estate or interest in a dwelling execute at his expense any work which that person is required to carry out in the dwelling in pursuance of an improvement notice or of an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act, and for that purpose the local authority shall have all such rights as that person would have as against any other person having an interest in the dwelling.

• (3) Where under this Part of this Act a local authority are required to serve a copy of a notice on any person who is to their knowledge an owner, lessee or mortgagee of any premises, any person having an estate or interest in those premises who is not served with a copy of the notice shall, on application in writing to the local authority, be entitled to obtain a copy of that notice.

• (4) In the application of this section to Scotland, in subsection (1) for the reference to the Act of 1957 there shall be substituted a reference to the Act of 1950.

Exclusion of dwellings controlled by Crown or a public authority

41

• (1) No preliminary notice or improvement notice shall be served in respect of any premises in which there is a Crown or Duchy interest except with the consent of the appropriate authority and, where a preliminary notice or improvement notice is served with the consent of the appropriate authority, this Part of this Act shall apply to the premises as it applies to premises in which there is no such interest.

• (2) No preliminary notice or improvement notice shall be served in respect of any premises if the person having control of the premises is—

• (a) a local authority,

• (b) the Commission for the New Towns or a development corporation,

• (c) a housing association satisfying one of the conditions set out in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of section 33(2) of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act 1954 (exclusion of certain lettings from Rent Acts) or, in Scotland, a housing association satisfying one of the conditions set out in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of section 25(2) of the Scottish Act of 1954 (exclusion of certain lettings from Rent Acts),

• (d) a housing trust which is a charity within the meaning of the Charities Act 1960 or, in Scotland, a housing trust within the meaning of section 39(1) of the Scottish Act of 1954 which was in existence on 13th November 1953,

• (e) the Scottish Special Housing Association,

• (f) the Housing Corporation established under Part I of this Act, or

• (g) an executive council constituted under section 32 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947,

and if after such a notice is served any such authority as is mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (g) above becomes the person having control of the premises, any such notice as respects the premises, and any undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act as respects the premises, shall cease to have effect.

• (3) If, in consequence of the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, an improvement notice ceases to have effect it shall be the duty of the authority mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (g) of that subsection—

• (a) where the notice related to a dwelling or other premises in England and Wales, to notify the officer who registered the notice or undertaking in the register of local land charges, and to furnish him with all information required by him for the purpose of cancelling the registration, and

• (b) where the notice related to a dwelling in Scotland, to notify the local authority and to furnish them with all information required by them for the purpose of recording in the General Register of Sasines a notice stating that the improvement notice has ceased to have effect, and the local authority shall as soon as practicable after receiving such notification cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a notice to the said effect.

• (4) In this section " Crown or Duchy interest" means an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or of the Duchy of Lancaster, or belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall or belonging to a government department, or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, and " the appropriate authority "—

• (a) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and forming part of the Crown Estate, means the Crown Estate Commissioners, and, in relation to any other land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, means the government department having the management of that land ;

• (b) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster, means the Chancellor of the Duchy;

• (c) in relation to land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall, means such person as the Duke of Cornwall, or the possessor for the time being of the Duchy of Cornwall, appoints; and

• (d) in relation to land belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, means that department;

and if any question arises as to what authority is the appropriate authority in relation to any land, that question shall be referred to the Treasury, whose decision shall be final.

• (5) In this section " local authority " means—

• (a) in relation to England and Wales, any authority being, within the meaning of the Local Loans Act 1875 an authority having power to levy a rate, and includes—

• (i) any joint board or joint committee all the constituent members of which are such authorities as aforesaid, and

• (ii) any police authority, but does not include the Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District;

• (b) in relation to Scotland, a local authority, joint board or joint committee as respectively defined by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947.

Exclusion of certain dwellings provided after 1944

42

This Part of this Act shall not apply to a dwelling provided after the end of the year 1944, unless the dwelling was provided by the conversion before 3rd October 1961 or, in the case of a dwelling provided in Scotland, by the conversion before the end of the year 1958, of a building erected before the end of the year 1944.

Definition of standard amenities and related expressions

43

• (1) Subject to this section, in this Part of this Act " the standard amenities ", in relation to a dwelling, mean the following amenities provided for the exclusive use of the occupants of the dwelling, that is—

• (a) a fixed bath or shower, which, subject to subsection (2) of this section, is to be in a bathroom ;

• (b) a wash-hand basin ;

• (c) a hot and cold water supply at a fixed bath or shower, which, if reasonably practicable, is to be in a bathroom ;

• (d) a hot and cold water supply at a wash-hand basin;

• (e) a hot and cold water supply at a sink ;

• (f) a water closet; and

• (g) satisfactory facilities for storing food.

• (2) The fixed bath or shower mentioned in paragraph (a) above may, if it is not reasonably practicable for it to be provided in a bathroom, but it is reasonably practicable for it to be provided with a hot and cold water supply, be in a part of the dwelling which is not a bathroom or bedroom.

• (3) The water closet mentioned in paragraph (f) above must, if reasonably practicable, be in, and readily accessible from, the dwelling or, if that is not reasonably practicable, in such a position in the curtilage of the dwelling, or where the dwelling is part of a larger building, in that building, as to be readily accessible from the dwelling.

• (4) In relation to a dwelling which is without one or more of the standard amenities, references in this Part of this Act to the improvement of the dwelling to the full standard are references to the carrying out of works to provide the dwelling with those of the standard amenities which it does not have.

• (5) In relation to a dwelling which is without one or more of the standard amenities listed in paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subsection (1) of this section, references in this Part of this Act to the improvement of the dwelling to the reduced standard are references to the carrying out of works to provide the dwelling with those of the said standard amenities listed in paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subsection (1) of this section which it does not have.

• (6) In determining for the purposes of this Part of this Act whether a dwelling is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard, or to the reduced standard, regard shall be had to the estimated cost of the works which would be required to provide the dwelling with amenities to the full standard or to the reduced standard, as the case may be, and to the value which it is estimated that the dwelling (or the building of which the dwelling forms part) would have if those works were carried out.

• (7) An order under section 4 or, in relation to Scotland, section 19 of the Act of 1959 varying the standard amenities for the purposes of that Act may also vary the provisions of this section and may contain such transitional and other supplemental provisions, including transitional provisions to take account of the provisions of this Part of this Act, as may appear to the Minister or, as the case may be, to the Secretary of State to be expedient.

Interpretation and construction of Part II

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• (1) In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• " dwelling " means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling;

• " flat " means a separate set of premises, whether or not on the same floor, constructed for use for the purposes of a dwelling and forming part of a building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally ;

• " improvement area " means an improvement area under section 13 of this Act;

• " improvement notice " means a suspended improvement notice, an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice;

• " local authority " means the council of a county borough, London borough or county district or the Common Council of the City of London, and in relation to Scotland means a local authority for the purposes of the Act of 1950; and, in relation to a dwelling or other premises, references to the local authority are references to the local authority in whose district the premises are situated;

• " owner ", in relation to any land, means a person, other than a mortgagee not in possession, who is for the time being entitled to dispose of the fee simple, and in relation to Scotland has the meaning given by section 184(1) of the Act of 1950 ;

• " the person having control "— in relation to any premises in England and Wales, means the person who receives any rent (including a rack-rent) payable by the tenant (as defined in this section) of the premises, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for any other person, or who would so receive the rent if the premises were let at a rack-rent, and for the purposes of this definition " rack-rent" means rent which is not less than two-thirds of the full net annual value of the premises, and in relation to any premises in Scotland has the meaning given by section 7(3) of the Act of 1950;

• " tenement " means a building which as constructed contained, and which contains, two or more flats;

• " tenement block " means a building or a part of a building which was constructed in the form of, and consists of, two or more flats.

• (2) In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, " tenant"—

• (a) includes a sub-tenant and a tenant (as defined in section 12(1)(g) of the Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act 1920) who retains possession by virtue of the Rent Acts and not as being entitled to a tenancy, but does not include—

• (i) in relation to England and Wales, a tenant holding under a lease granted for a term certain of more than twenty-one years at a rent of less than two-thirds of the full net annual value of the demised premises, or a mortgagee in possession,

• (ii) in relation to Scotland, a tenant holding under a lease granted for a period of more than twenty-one years at a rent of less than two-thirds of the net annual value for rating purposes of the leased premises, or a heritable creditor in possession, and

• (b) includes, in relation to a dwelling, a person employed in agriculture (as defined in section 17(1) of the Agricultural Wages Act 1948, or in relation to Scotland, section 17 of the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Act 1949) who occupies or resides in the dwelling as part of the terms of his employment,

and " tenancy " shall be construed accordingly.

References in this Part of this Act to a tenant occupying a dwelling include, in the case of a tenant within paragraph (b) of this definition, a tenant residing in the dwelling and " occupation " and " occupied " and related expressions shall be construed accordingly; and in relation to a dwelling occupied by such a tenant " the person having control" of the dwelling means, in this Part of this Act, the employer or other person by whose authority the tenant occupies the dwelling.

• (3) Sections 4 and 5 of the Act of 1957 or, in relation to Scotland, section 24 of the Act of 1962 and section 23 of the Act of 1950 shall apply for the determination for the purposes of this Part of this Act of any question whether any dwelling—

• (a) is fit or unfit for human habitation, or

• (b) will be likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain fit for human habitation and available for use as a dwelling for a period of not less than fifteen years,

and in determining the question under paragraph (b) of this subsection the term " normal maintenance " shall include only such repairs as are reasonable having regard to the prospective life of the dwelling.

• (4) This Part of this Act, in its application to England and Wales, shall be construed as one with the Act of 1957 and, in its application to Scotland, shall be construed as one with the Act of 1950.

PART III — Assistance for Improvement of Dwellings

Standard grants and Minister's contributions to local authorities for provision of standard amenities

Standard grants for provision of amenities below full standard

45

• (1) An application may be made under section 4 of the Act of 1959 (grants for provision of standard amenities) proposing the carrying out of works which comprise the provision of part only of the standard amenities mentioned in that section notwithstanding that the dwelling is not already provided with all the remainder of those standard amenities if—

• (a) the application contains a statement that it is not practicable at reasonable expense to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities, and

• (b) after the execution of the works the dwelling will be provided with at least the amenities comprised in the reduced standard as defined in section 43(5) of this Act,

and the application gives the facts on which the statement is based; and so much of section 4(3) of the Act of 1959 as requires a statement that the remaining amenities are already provided shall not apply.

• (2) The local authority shall not approve the application unless they are satisfied as to the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the foregoing subsection, and section 5(1) of the Act of 1959 (which requires the authority to approve an application in the circumstances there specified) shall have effect accordingly ; and if the local authority are not satisfied as to the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the foregoing subsection, and the applicant on being notified of their decision so requests, the local authority shall give to the applicant a written statement setting out their reasons for making their decision.

• (3) In considering an application which states that it is not practicable at reasonable expense to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities, the local authority shall have regard to the estimated cost of the works which would be required to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities and the value which it is estimated that the dwelling (or the building of which the dwelling forms part) would have if works to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities were carried out.

• (4) In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to section 4, section 4(3) and section 5(1) of the Act of 1959 there shall be substituted respectively references to section 19, section 19(3) and section 20(1) of that Act.

Amount of standard grant

46

• (1) The amount of a standard grant shall, subject to this section, be one half of the cost shown to have been incurred in executing the works in respect of which it is made.

• (2) If any of the works are not exclusively for the purpose of providing one or more of the standard amenities, only so much of the cost of carrying out those works as is, in the opinion of the local authority, attributable to the provision of the standard amenity or standard amenities shall be taken into account under the foregoing subsection.

• (3) Subject to this section, there shall be a limit on the amount of a standard grant determined in accordance with the following Table, and the limit shall depend on the number of items in the following Table which will be provided by the works and shall be the total of the amounts specified in column 2 of that Table for those items or £350, whichever is the less.

List of amenities	Amount allowed towards limit
A fixed bath or shower in a bathroom or elsewhere.	£25 or, if the bathroom is being provided by the building of a new structure or the conversion of outbuildings attached to the dwelling (or to the building of which the dwelling forms part) and, before the time when the local authority approve the application, they have been satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable to provide the bathroom in any other way, such higher amount as the local authority shall fix at that time as being in their opinion one-half of the part of the cost to be reasonably incurred in executing the works, being the part of the cost attributable to the provision of the fixed bath or shower.
A wash-hand basin	£5
A hot and cold water supply at a fixed bath or shower.	£35
A hot and cold water supply at a wash-hand basin.	£15
A hot and cold water supply at a sink.	£25
A water closet	£40 or if the works comprise the installation of a septic tank and, before the time when the local authority approve the application, they have been satisfied that the connection of the water closet with main drainage is not possible or reasonably practicable, such higher amount as the local authority shall fix at that time as being in their opinion one-half of the part of the cost to be reasonably incurred in executing the works, being the part of the cost attributable to the provision of the water closet.
Facilities for storing food	£10
If the works comprise, in connection with all or any of the amenities provided, the bringing of a piped supply of cold water into the dwelling for the first time.	Such amount as the local authority shall fix at the time when they approve the application as being in their opinion one-half of the part of the cost to be reasonably incurred in executing the works, being the part of the cost attributable to the bringing of the piped supply into the dwelling.

• (4) The local authority shall, when they approve the application, inform the applicant of any decision taken by them under the Table fixing a higher amount in respect of the cost attributable to the provision of a fixed bath or shower, or of a water closet, or fixing any amount in respect of the cost of bringing a piped supply of cold water into the dwelling.

• (5) In determining the limit the amount specified for any item in the Table shall not be brought in more than once, and no account shall be taken of any amenity provided by the works if, at the time when the works were begun, the dwelling was provided with an amenity of that kind unless part of the cost incurred in executing the works is attributable to interference with or replacement of that amenity and the local authority are satisfied that it would not have been reasonably practicable to avoid the interference or replacement.

• (6) References in this section to the cost incurred in executing or carrying out works shall include references to the cost of the employment in connection with the works of an architect, engineer, surveyor, land agent or other person in an advisory or supervisory capacity.

• (7) The Minister may by order vary the provisions of subsections (3), (4) and (5) of this section in any respect.

An order under this subsection—

• (a) may contain such transitional or other supplemental provisions as appear to the Minister to be expedient,

• (b) may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order, and

• (c) shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (8) The provisions of this section shall have effect as respects any application made under section 4 of the Act of 1959 after the coming into force of this section, and in substitution for the provisions of section 6 of the Act of 1959.

• (9) In the application of this section to Scotland—

• (a) in subsection (6), for the words from " the cost of the employment " to the end there shall be substituted the words " fees payable to professional persons employed in connection with those works ";

• (b) in subsection (7), for the references to the Minister there shall be substituted references to the Secretary of State, and

• (c) in subsection (8), for the references to section 4 and section 6 of the Act of 1959 there shall be substituted respectively references to section 19 and section 21 of that Act.

Standard grants for provision of amenities in accordance with Part II of Act

47

• (1) This section shall apply as respects works to be carried out in compliance with an improvement notice served, or an undertaking accepted, under Part II of this Act.

• (2) The form of an application under section 4 of the Act of 1959 as respects the works shall be such as the local authority may direct, and section 4(4) of the Act of 1959 (under which the applicant must state that he is the occupier or that the occupier has given his consent to the application) shall not apply to the application.

• (3) If the works comprise the provision of a fixed bath or shower in a bathroom which is for the use of the occupants of more than one dwelling in a tenement block, the said section 4 shall apply in relation to the bathroom as if subsection (1) of that section did not require the standard amenities to be for the exclusive use of the occupants of a dwelling.

An order under the said section 4 may amend or repeal any of the provisions of this subsection.

• (4) In the application of this section to Scotland—

• (a) in subsection (2), for the references to section 4 and section 4(4) of the Act of 1959 there shall be substituted respectively references to section 19 and section 19(4) of that Act;

• (b) subsection (3) shall not apply.

Standard grants excluded for certain houses and other buildings in multiple occupation

48

• (1) Section 4 of the Act of 1959 so far as it relates to applications made by virtue of section 45 of this Act shall not apply to an application made in respect of a dwelling which is or forms part of a house or building in respect of which the local authority are satisfied that they have power to serve a notice under section 15 of the Act of 1961 (which, as extended by section 21 of that Act, relates to the execution of works in houses and buildings in a state not suitable for multiple occupation).

• (2) In the application of this section to Scotland, for the reference to section 4 of the Act of 1959 there shall be substituted a reference to section 19 of that Act.

Amendment of list of standard amenities

49

• (1) For section 4(1)(c) of the Act of 1959 (which, as amended by section 30(2) of the Act of 1961, includes in the standard amenities a hot water supply at a bath or shower, a wash-hand basin and a sink) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

(c) a hot and cold water supply at a fixed bath or shower which, if reasonably practicable, is to be in a bathroom ; (cc) a hot and cold water supply at a wash-hand basin ; (ccc) a hot and cold water supply at a sink

.

This subsection shall have effect as respects applications made under the said section 4 after the commencement of this Act.

• (2) Subject to this section, the fixed bath or shower mentioned in section 4(1)(a) of the Act of 1959 may, if it is not reasonably practicable for it to be provided in a bathroom, but it is reasonably practicable for it to be provided with a hot and cold water supply, be in a part of the dwelling which is not a bathroom or bedroom.

• (3) This section shall not have effect so as to require a local authority to accept an application under the said section 4 as respects works which include the provision of a fixed bath or shower in a part of a dwelling which is- not a bathroom unless the works are to be carried out in compliance with an improvement notice served, or an undertaking accepted, under Part II of this Act.

• (4) An order under the said section 4 may amend or repeal any of the provisions of this section.

• (5) In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to section 4, section 4(1)(a) and section 4(1)(c) of the Act of 1959 there shall be substituted respectively references to section 19, section 19(1)(a) and section 19(1)(c) of that Act, and for the reference to section 30(2) of the Act of 1961 there shall be substituted a reference to section 17(1) of the Act of 1962.

Minister's contributions to local authorities under s. 13 of Act of 1959

50

• (1) An application may be made under section 13 of the Act of 1959 (contributions in respect of standard amenities provided by local authorities) proposing the carrying out of works which comprise the provision of part only of the standard amenities notwithstanding that the dwelling is not already provided with all the remainder of those standard amenities if—

• (a) the application contains a statement that it is not practicable at reasonable expense to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities, and

• (b) after the execution of the works the dwelling will be provided with at least the amenities comprised in the reduced standard as defined in section 43(5) of this Act,

and the application gives the facts on which the statement is based; and so much of section 13(2) of the Act of 1959 as requires the application to state that the dwelling is already provided with the remaining amenities shall not apply.

• (2) The Minister shall not approve the application unless satisfied as to the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the foregoing subsection, and notwithstanding section 13(3) of the Act of 1959 (which requires the Minister to approve an application in the circumstances there specified) the Minister may approve or refuse the application as he thinks fit.

• (3) In considering an application which states that it is not practicable at reasonable expense to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities, the Minister shall have regard to the estimated cost of the works which would be required to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities and the value which it is estimated that the dwelling (or the building of which the dwelling forms part) would have if works to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities were carried out.

• (4) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Amount of Minister's contributions under s. 13 of Act of 1959

51

• (1) A contribution under section 13 of the Act of 1959 shall be a sum payable annually for the twenty financial years beginning with the year in which the works in respect of which it is made are completed, equal to three-eighths of the annual loan charges referable to the amount specified in the following provisions of this section.

The said amount shall, subject to this section, be the cost shown to have been incurred in executing the works in respect of which the contribution is made.

• (2) If any of the works are not exclusively for the purpose of providing one or more of the standard amenities, only so much of the cost of carrying out those works as is, in the opinion of the Minister, attributable to the provision of the standard amenity or standard amenities shall be taken into account under the foregoing subsection.

• (3) Subject to this section, there shall be a limit on the amount of such a contribution determined in accordance with the following Table, and the limit shall depend on the number of items in the following Table which will be provided by the works and shall be the total of the amounts specified in column 2 of that Table for those items or £700, whichever is the less.

List of amenities	Amount allowed towards limit
A fixed bath or shower in a bathroom or elsewhere.	£50 or, if the bathroom is being provided by the building of a new structure or the conversion of outbuildings attached to the dwelling (or to the building of which the dwelling forms part) and the Minister is satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable to provide the bathroom in any other way, such higher amount, not being more than the part of the cost of executing the works which is attributable to the provision of the fixed bath or shower, as the Minister may determine.
A wash-hand basin	£10
A hot and cold water supply at a fixed bath or shower.	£70
A hot and cold water supply at a wash-hand basin.	£30
A hot and cold water supply at a sink.	£50
A water closet	£80 or if the works comprise the installation of a septic tank and the Minister is satisfied that the connection of the water closet with main drainage is not possible or reasonably practicable, such higher amount, not being more than the part of the cost of executing the works which is attributable to the provision of the water closet, as the Minister may determine.
Facilities for storing food	£20
If the works comprise, in connection with all or any of the amenities provided, the bringing of a piped supply of cold water into the dwelling for the first time.	Such amount, if any, not being more than the part of the cost of executing the works which is attributable to the bringing of the piped supply into the dwelling, as the Minister may determine.

• (4) In determining the limit the amount specified for any item in the Table shall not be brought in more than once, and no account shall be taken of any amenity provided by the works if, at the time when the works were begun, the dwelling was provided with an amenity of that kind unless part of the cost incurred in executing the works is attributable to interference with or replacement of that amenity and the Minister is satisfied that it would not have been reasonably practicable to avoid the interference or replacement.

• (5) References in this section to the cost incurred in executing or carrying out works shall, where the local authority employ a person who is not one of their officers as an architect, engineer, surveyor, land agent or other person in an advisory or supervisory capacity in connection with the works, include the cost of his employment for that purpose.

• (6) The Minister may by order contained in a statutory instrument vary the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section in any respect and any such statutory instrument shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (7) The Minister may by order contained in a statutory instrument reduce, as respects applications approved after such date as may be specified in the order, the proportion of the said annual loan charges, but not below one-third.

An order under this subsection—

• (a) shall not be made unless a draft thereof has been approved by a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament;

• (b) shall not specify a date earlier than the date of the laying of the draft;

and before laying such a draft the Minister shall consult with such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be concerned and with any local authority with whom consultation appear to him to be desirable.

• (8) An order under this section—

• (a) may contain such transitional or other supplemental provisions as appear to the Minister to be expedient, and

• (b) may be varied or revoked by subsequent order.

• (9) Section 29(3) of the Act of 1959 (which defines the annual loan charges referable to any amount) shall apply for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of that Act.

• (10) The provisions of this section shall have effect as respects any application made under section 13 of the Act of 1959 after the coming into force of this section, and in substitution for the provisions of section 14 of the Act of 1959.

• (11) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Standard grants and Minister's contributions for dwellings provided after 1944 in England and Wales

52

• (1) In section 4(6) and section 13(5) of the Act of 1959 (which restrict standard grants and contributions by the Minister under the said section 13 for dwellings provided after 1944 to cases where the dwelling was provided by a conversion before the end of 1958 of a pre-1945 building) for the words " the end of the year 1958 " there shall be substituted the words " 3rd October 1961 ".

• (2) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Provision as to improvement grants and standard grants

Duration of leasehold interest of applicant for improvement grant or standard grant in England and Wales

53

• (1) If an applicant for an improvement grant or a standard grant as respects a single dwelling is, at the time when the application is made, occupying the dwelling and has an interest in the dwelling which constitutes a long tenancy at a low rent—

• (a) section 31(3) of the Act of 1958 (which as amended by section 10 of the Act of 1959 prevents the making of improvement grants to a leaseholder if his unexpired term is less than fifteen years), and

• (b) section 5(3) of the Act of 1959 (which contains a corresponding provision for standard grants),

shall apply in relation to that interest as if for the words " fifteen years " there were substituted the words " five years ".

• (2) This section shall not apply in relation to applications made before the coming into force of this section.

• (3) In this section " long tenancy " and " tenancy at a low rent" have the meanings given by subsections (4) and (5) of section 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.

• (4) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Conditions attaching to improvement grants and standard grants in England and Wales

54

• (1) In section 33(1) of the Act of 1958 (which, as extended by section 7 of the Act of 1959, and as amended by section 11(1) of that Act, imposes conditions in connection with the making of improvement grants under Part II of the Act of 1958, and of standard grants, which operate for ten years) for the word " ten " there shall, as respects grants made before or after the coming into force of this section, be substituted the word " three ".

• (2) If under section 32(2) of the Act of 1958 an instalment of an improvement grant is paid before the completion of the works, and the works are not completed within twelve months of the date of payment of the instalment, then that instalment and any further sums paid by the local authority on account of the improvement grant shall, on being demanded by the local authority, forthwith become payable to them by the person to whom the instalment was paid and the instalment and any such payment shall carry interest at the rate prescribed by regulations under secton 49 of the Act of 1958 from the date on which it was paid by the local authority until repaid under this subsection.

• (3) Compound interest under section 34 of the Act of 1958 (enforcement of conditions attached to improvement grants and standard grants) shall be payable in respect of the period down to payment of the sum in question to the local authority, but shall not be payable in respect of any liability which has merged in a judgment debt in respect of the period for which it has so merged.

Conditions attaching to improvement grants and standard grants in Scotland

55

• (1) In section 114(1) of the Act of 1950 (which, as extended by section 22 of the Act of 1959, and as amended by section 24(2) of that Act, imposes conditions in connection with the making of improvement grants under Part VII of the Act of 1950, and of standard grants, which operate for ten years) for the word " ten " there shall, as respects grants made before or after the coming into force of this section, be substituted the word " three ".

• (2) If under section 112(2) of the Act of 1950 an instalment of an improvement grant is paid before the completion of the works, and the works are not completed within twelve months of the date of payment of the instalment, then that instalment and any further sums paid by the local authority on account of the improvement grant shall, on being demanded by the local authority, forthwith become payable to them by the person to whom the instalment was paid, and the instalment and any such payment shall carry interest at the rate prescribed by regulations under section 122 of the Act of 1950 from the date on which it was paid by the local authority until repaid under this subsection.

• (3) Compound interest under section 114(2) of the Act of 1950 (enforcement of conditions attached to improvement grants) shall be payable in respect of the period down to the payment of the sum in question to the local authority.

Conditions attaching to improvement grants and standard grants in England and Wales: rent limit

56

• (1) Schedule 4 to the Act of 1958 (paragraph 4 of which includes a rent limit among the conditions to be observed by owners of dwellings in receipt of improvement grants or standard grants) shall, where that Schedule applies in consequence of the making of an improvement grant or standard grant on an application made after the coming into force of this section, have effect as if the following provisions of this section were included in that paragraph.

• (2) The rent payable by the occupier of the dwelling under a tenancy—

• (a) which is not a controlled tenancy, and

• (b) which is not a tenancy falling within paragraph (c) or (d) of section 33 of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act 1954 (which exclude from the operations of the Rent Acts certain tenancies where the interest of the landlord belongs to a housing association or a housing trust),

shall not exceed a rent at an annual rate equal to the limit imposed by this section, and so much of the said paragraph 4 as applies the limit imposed by section 20 of the Rent Act 1957 shall not apply to the rent under that tenancy.

• (3) Subject to this section, the limit shall be the 1963 gross value of the dwelling together with—

• (a) the annual amount, ascertained in accordance with Schedule 2 to the Rent Act 1957, of any rates for the first rental period of the tenancy, being rates borne by the landlord or a superior landlord, and

• (b) such annual amount as may be agreed in writing between the landlord and the tenant or determined by the county court to be a reasonable charge for any services for the tenant provided by the landlord or a superior landlord during the first rental period of the tenancy, or any furniture which under the terms of the tenancy the tenant is entitled to use during that period.

In this subsection " first rental period " means, in relation to a tenancy subsisting on the date when the conditions take effect, the rental period comprising that date and, in the case of any other tenancy, the first rental period of the tenancy.

• (4) Sections 2, 3, 4, 5 and 19 of the Rent Act 1957 (which enable the rent limit under that Act to be increased and confer jurisdiction on the county court in questions concerning that rent limit) shall apply in relation to the limit under this section and the tenancy as they apply to the rent limit under that Act and a controlled tenancy so, however, that—

• (a) in sections 3 and 4 of that Act as so applied for references to the basic rental period there shall be substituted references to the first rental period as defined in the last foregoing subsection, and

• (b) in section 5 of that Act as so applied for the reference to the commencement of that Act there shall be substituted a reference to 13th November 1963.

• (5) In this section " 1963 gross value", in relation to a dwelling, means, subject to the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act, the gross value thereof as shown in the valuation list on 13th November 1963 or, where the dwelling forms part only of a hereditament shown in that list, such proportion of the gross value shown in that list for that hereditament as may be agreed in writing between the landlord and the tenant or determined by the county court.

• (6) The Minister may by regulations under section 49 of the Act of 1958 direct that in such cases as may be prescribed by the regulations (including, if so provided, cases where conditions under Schedule 4 to that Act took effect before the corning into force of the regulations) this section and Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect as if for 13th November 1963 there were substituted such later date, being a date after the valuation list which is in force on that date in 1963 ceases to be in force, as may be specified in the regulations, and regulations made in pursuance of this subsection may contain such transitional, consequential and other provisions as appear to the Minister to be expedient, including provisions for modification of the term " 1963 gross value " and of references to 1st April 1964 in Schedule 2 to this Act.

• (7) Section 25 of the Rent Act 1957 shall apply for the interpretation of this section.

• (8) Section 12 of the Act of 1959 (under which the local authority may fix a rent limit higher than that prescribed by paragraph 4 of the said Schedule 4 to the Act of 1958) shall apply in relation to the said paragraph 4 as amended by this section, and accordingly—

• (a) the references in subsections (1), (2) and (5) of the said section 12 to the limit imposed by section 20 of the Rent Act 1957 shall include references to the limit imposed by subsection (2) of this section, and

• (b) in the said section 12(2) as applied by this section the reference to section 20(3) of the Rent Act 1957 shall be omitted.

• (9) The provisions of this section, so far as providing for a limit higher than the limit imposed by section 20 of the Rent Act 1957, shall be without prejudice to any limit imposed under Schedule 4 to the Rent Act 1957 (transitional provisions on decontrol) or under Schedule 4 to the Act of 1958 as applied in relation to any improvement grant or standard grant made on an application which was made before the coming into force of this section.

• (10) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Miscellaneous

Duty of local authority in England and Wales to offer loans to meet expenses of compulsory improvement under Part II of Act

57

• (1) Any person who is liable to incur expenditure in complying with an immediate improvement notice or final improvement notice served, or an undertaking accepted, under Part II of this Act, or who is liable to make a payment as directed -by a court under section 27(8) of this Act, may apply to the local authority for a loan.

• (2) Subject to this section, if the local authority are satisfied that the applicant can reasonably be expected to meet obligations assumed by him in pursuance of this section in respect of a loan of the amount of the expenditure or payment to which the application relates, the local authority shall offer to enter into a contract with the applicant for a loan by the local authority to the applicant of that amount, to be secured to the local authority by a mortgage of the applicant's interest in the premises consisting of or comprising the dwelling or dwellings.

• (3) Subject to this section, if the local authority are not so satisfied, but consider that the applicant can reasonably be expected to meet obligations assumed by him in pursuance of this section in respect of a loan of a smaller amount, the local authority may, if they think fit, offer to enter into a contract with the applicant for a loan by the local authority to the applicant of that smaller amount, to be secured as mentioned in the last foregoing subsection.

• (4) Any contract entered into by the local authority under this section shall contain a condition to the effect that, if a standard grant or improvement grant becomes payable under section 4 of the Act of 1959 or section 30 of the Act of 1958 in respect of the expenditure or payment to which the application under this section relates, the local authority shall not be required to lend a sum greater than the amount of the expenditure or payment to which the application relates after deduction of the amount of the standard grant or, as the case may be, the improvement grant.

• (5) The local authority shall not make an offer under the foregoing provisions of this section unless they are satisfied—

• (a) that the applicant's interest in the said premises amounts to an estate in fee simple absolute in possession or an estate for a term of years absolute which will not expire before the date for final repayment of the loan, and

• (b) that, according to a valuation made on behalf of the local authority, the amount of the principal of the loan does not exceed the value which it is estimated the mortgaged security will bear after improvement of the dwelling or dwellings to the full or, as the case may be, the reduced standard.

• (6) The rate of interest payable on a loan under this section shall be such as the Minister may direct either generally or in any particular case, and the Minister may, if he thinks fit, give directions, either generally or in any particular case, as to the time within which a loan under this section, or any part of such a loan, is to be repaid.

• (7) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, the contract offered by the local authority under this section shall require proof of title and shall contain such other reasonable terms as the local authority may specify in their offer.

• (8) The local authority's offer may in particular include any such terms as are described in section 43(3)(c) of the Act of 1958 (repayment of principal and interest), and provision for the advance being made by instalments from time to time as the works of improvement progress.

• (9) An application under this section must be made in writing within three months of the date when the improvement notice becomes operative or the undertaking is accepted or the payment is to be made as directed by the court, as the case may be, or such longer period as the local authority by permission given in writing may allow.

• (10) References in this section to the dwelling are references to the dwelling to which the improvement notice or undertaking relates, or in respect of which the payment is to be made, and the reference to the improvement of the dwelling to the full standard or the reduced standard shall be construed as if contained in Part II of this Act.

• (11) Where a standard grant or improvement grant is payable partly in respect of expenditure or a payment to which the application under this section relates, and partly in respect of other expenditure or another payment, the reference in subsection (4) of this section to a standard grant or improvement grant shall be taken as a reference to the part of the standard grant or improvement grant which in the opinion of the local authority is attributable to the expenditure or payment to which the application under this section relates.

• (12) This section shall not apply to Scotland.

Duty of local authority in Scotland to offer loans to meet expenses of compulsory improvement under Part II of Act

58

• (1) Any person who is liable to incur expenditure in complying with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice served, or an undertaking accepted, under Part II of this Act in Scotland, or who is liable to make a payment as directed by the sheriff under section 27(8) of this Act, may apply to the local authority for a loan.

• (2) Subject to this section, if the local authority are satisfied that the applicant can reasonably be expected to meet obligations assumed by him in pursuance of this section in respect of a loan of the amount of the expenditure or payment to which the application relates, the local authority shall offer to make a loan of that amount to the applicant, the loan to be secured to the local authority by a bond and disposition in security of the premises consisting of or comprising the dwelling, or by a bond and assignation in security of a lease of those premises, or by a bond and such other deed of security over the applicant's estate or interest in the said premises as may be agreed between the local authority and the applicant.

• (3) Subject to this section, if the local authority are not so satisfied, but consider that the applicant can reasonably be expected to meet obligations assumed by him in pursuance of this section in respect of a loan of a smaller amount, the local authority may, if they think fit, offer to make a loan of that smaller amount to the applicant, the loan to be secured as mentioned in the last foregoing subsection.

• (4) Any offer made by the local authority under this section shall contain a condition to the effect that, if a standard grant or improvement grant becomes payable under section 19 of the Act of 1959 or section 111 of the Act of 1950 in respect of the expenditure or payment to which the application under this section relates, the local authority shall not be required to lend a sum greater than the amount of the expenditure or payment to which the application relates after deduction of the amount of the standard grant or, as the case may be, of the improvement grant.

• (5) The local authority shall not make an offer under the foregoing provisions of this section unless they are satisfied—

• (a) that the applicant's estate or interest in the said premises amounts to ownership or a lease for a period which will not expire before the date for final repayment of the loan, and

• (b) that, according to a valuation made on behalf of the local authority, the amount of the principal of the loan does not exceed the value which it is estimated the subjects comprised in the security will bear after improvement of the dwelling or dwellings to the full or, as the case may be, the reduced standard.

• (6) The rate of interest payable on a loan under this section shall be such as the Secretary of State may direct either generally or in any particular case, and the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, give directions, either generally or in any particular case, as to the time within which a loan under this section, or any part of such a loan, is to be repaid.

• (7) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, the loan offered by the local authority under this section shall be subject to such reasonable terms as the local authority may specify in their offer.

• (8) The local authority's offer may in particular include any such terms as are described in section 75(3)(c) of the Act of 1950 (repayment of principal and interest) and provision for the advance being made by instalments from time to time as the works of improvement progress.

• (9) An application under this section must be made in writing within three months of the date when the improvement notice becomes operative or the undertaking is accepted or the payment is to be made as directed by the sheriff, as the case may be, or such longer period as the local authority by permission given in writing may allow.

• (10) References in this section to the dwelling are references to the dwelling to which the improvement notice or undertaking relates or in respect of which the payment is to be made, and the reference to the improvement of the dwelling to the full standard or the reduced standard shall be construed as if contained in Part II of this Act.

• (11) Where a standard grant or improvement grant is payable partly in respect of expenditure or a payment to which the application under this section relates, and partly in respect of other expenditure or another payment, the reference in subsection (4) of this section to a standard grant or improvement grant shall be taken as a reference to the part of the standard grant or improvement grant which in the opinion of the local authority is attributable to the expenditure or payment to which the application under this section relates.

Compulsory improvement under Part II of Act: right to serve purchase notice

59

• (1) If the person having control of a dwelling or other premises is served with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice under Part II of this Act, that person or, if any such notice was served on a person as being one who received the rack-rent of the premises as agent or trustee for any other person, that ether person may, by notice in writing served on the local authority at any time within six months from the date on which the improvement notice becomes operative require the local authority to purchase his interest in the premises in accordance with this section.

• (2) On service of a notice under the foregoing subsection the local authority shall be deemed to be authorised to acquire the interest of the said person in the premises compulsorily under the Lands Clauses Acts and to have served a notice to treat in respect of that interest on the date of the service of the notice under the foregoing subsection.

• (3) Paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of Schedule 2 to the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 (which contain provisions modifying the Lands Clauses Acts in relation to compulsory purchases under that Act) shall apply in relation to compulsory purchases under this section.

• (4) Within twenty-one days of receipt of a notice served by any person under subsection (1) of this section the local authority shall notify every other person who is to their knowledge an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the premises, or who is the occupier of the premises.

• (5) In the application of this section to Scotland—

• (a) in subsection (1), for the reference to a person who received the rack-rent of the premises as agent or trustee for any other person there shall be substituted a reference to a person who received the rent of the premises as trustee, tutor, curator, factor or agent for or of any other person ;

• (b) in subsection (3), for the reference to paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of Schedule 2 to the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 there shall be substituted a reference to paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 2 to the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947.

Amount of improvement grant for dwellings provided by conversion of houses of three or more stories in England and Wales

60

• (1) Section 32(1)(b) of the Act of 1958 (which limits the amount of an improvement grant under Part II of that Act for each dwelling provided by the improvement works to four hundred pounds or such other amount as may be prescribed) shall have effect in relation to a dwelling provided by a conversion of a house which consists of three or more storeys as if for the words " four hundred pounds " there were substituted the words " five hundred pounds ".

• (2) The reference in the foregoing subsection to the number of storeys shall, if any of the dwellings provided by the improvement works is a dwelling all or part of which is in the basement, include the basement as one of the number of storeys of the house.

• (3) The Minister's power under the said section 32(1)(b) to vary the amount specified in that paragraph shall be exercisable separately as respects the amount of four hundred pounds mentioned in that section and as respects the amount of five hundred pounds substituted by this section in the cases specified in this section.

• (4) This section shall not have effect as respects applications made to a local authority before the coming into force of this section.

Amount of improvement grant in Scotland. ,

61

• (1) Section 112(1)(b) of the Act of 1950 (which limits the amount of an improvement grant under Part VII of that Act for each dwelling provided by the improvement works to four hundred pounds or such other amount as may be prescribed) shall have effect as if for the words " four hundred pounds " there were substituted the words " five hundred pounds ".

• (2) This section shall not have effect as respects applications made to a local authority before the coming into force of this section.

Amount of exchequer payments under s. 105 of Act of 1950, etc., in Scotland

62

• (1) A contribution to a local authority under section 105 of the Act of 1950 (which authorises the Secretary of State to make payments towards the annual loss likely to be incurred by a local authority in carrying out approved proposals for the conversion or improvement of houses) shall, instead of being such a contribution as is mentioned in that section, be a contribution towards—

• (a) the cost of the works of conversion or improvement required for carrying out the proposals, and

• (b) any expense incurred by the local authority in acquiring interests in land for the purpose of giving effect to the proposals;

and the following provisions of this section shall have effect with respect to such a contribution.

• (2) The contribution shall be a sum equal to three-eighths of the annual loan charges referable to an amount determined in accordance with subsections (3) and (4) of this section, payable annually for the period of twenty financial years beginning with the year in which the carrying out of the proposals was completed or for such period, not exceeding sixty financial years beginning as aforesaid, as may be determined by the Secretary of State.

• (3) The said amount shall be determined by the Secretary of State when approving the proposals and shall, subject to subsection (4) of this section, be the amount appearing to him to be the aggregate of—

• (a) the cost likely to be incurred by the local authority in carrying out the works, and

• (b) any expense likely to be incurred by the local authority in acquiring interests in land for the purpose of giving effect to the proposals.

• (4) The amount so determined shall not exceed fourteen hundred pounds, or such other amount as may be specified by order of the Secretary of State, for each dwelling provided or improved by the works, unless the Secretary of State is satisfied in any particular case that in all the circumstances of the case there is good reason for determining a higher amount.

• (5) The Secretary of State may by order reduce, as respects proposals approved after such date as may be specified in the order, the proportion of the said annual loan charges, but not below one-third.

• (6) For the purposes of this section, the annual loan charges referable to any amount shall be the annual sum which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, would fall to be provided by a local authority for the payment of interest on, and the repayment of, a loan of that amount repayable over the period of twenty years or, in a case where the Secretary of State has determined a longer period under subsection (2) of this section, that longer period.

• (7) Any order made under this section shall be made by statutory instrument, and—

• (a) a statutory instrument containing an order under sub section (4) of this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament; and

• (b) an order under subsection (5) of this section—

• (i) shall not be made unless a draft thereof has been approved by a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament;

• (ii) shall not specify a date earlier than the date of the laying of the draft;

and before laying such a draft the Secretary of State shall consult with such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be concerned.

• (8) The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply in relation to—

• (a) contributions falling to be made by the Secretary of State to a local authority in pursuance of section 121 of the Act of 1950 (assistance towards improvement of housing accommodation by housing associations and development corporations under arrangements made by them with local authorities), and

• (b) payments falling to be made by the Secretary of State to a housing association in pursuance of section 14 of the Act of 1962 (assistance towards improvement of housing accommodation by housing associations under arrangements made by them with the Secretary of State),

as they apply in relation to the contributions mentioned in subsection (1) of this section; and for the purposes of such application this section shall have effect—

• (i) in relation to contributions under the said section 121, as if for the references to cost or expense incurred or likely to be incurred by a local authority, and to the approval of proposals by the Secretary of State, there were substituted respectively references to cost or expense incurred or likely to be incurred by a housing association or development corporation, and to the approval by the Secretary of State of arrangements made by a local authority with a housing association or development corporation;

• (ii) in relation to payments under the said section 14, as if for the references to a local authority and to the approval of proposals by the Secretary of State there were substituted respectively references to a housing association and to the making of arrangements by the Secretary of State with a housing association;

and subject to any other necessary modifications.

• (9) A local authority submitting to the Secretary of State for approval such proposals as are mentioned in the said section 105 or such arrangements as are mentioned in the said section 121, and a housing association wishing to make with the Secretary of State such arrangements as are mentioned in the said section 14, shall furnish to the Secretary of State such estimates and such particulars as he may require for the purposes of this section.

• (10) This section shall not affect the nature or amount of any contributions or payments falling to be made by the Secretary of State in connection with (as the case may be) proposals or arrangements approved, or arrangements made, before the coming into operation of this section.

Exchequer contributions to Commission for the New Towns and development corporations in respect of improvements

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• (1) The following enactments (which authorise the Minister to make contributions to local authorities in respect of houses converted or improved by them and dwellings provided by them with the standard amenities), that is—

• (a) section 9 of the Act of 1958, and section 15 of the Act of 1959, and

• (b) section 13 of the Act of 1959 and section 47 of this Act,

shall apply as if references in those sections to a local authority included references to—

• (i) the Commission for the New Towns, and

• (ii) any development corporation established under the New Towns Act 1946.

• (2) Section 105 of the Act of 1950 (which authorises the Secretary of State to make contributions to local authorities in respect of houses converted or improved by them) shall apply as if references in that section to a local authority included references to any development corporation established under the New Towns Act 1946.

PART IV — Houses in Multiple Occupation

Amendments of Part II of Act of 1961

Recovery of local authority's expenses under Part II of Act of 1961

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• (1) Subject to this section, any expenses recoverable by a local authority under section 18(3) of the Act of 1961 (default powers of local authority as respects work to be carried out under Part II of that Act) together with interest accrued due thereon, shall, until recovered, be a charge on the premises to which the notice relates and on all estates and interests therein.

The provisions of this subsection shall be in substitution for the provisions of section 18(4) of the Act of 1961 (which charges the expenses on the estate or interest of the person on whom the notice was served), and subsection (5) of that section (which prelates to the enforcement of a charge) shall apply as if the reference to that subsection (4) were a reference to this subsection.

• (2) On the date on which a local authority under the said section 18(3) serve a demand for expenses incurred by them, they shall also serve a copy of the demand on every person who is to their knowledge an owner or lessee or mortgagee of the house or building; and within twenty-one days from that date any person may appeal to the county court against the demand.

On the appeal no question may be raised which might have been raised on an appeal against the relevant notice under section 14(5) or 17(1) of the Act of 1961.

• (3) Until the demand becomes operative in accordance with this section the charge under subsection (1) of this section shall not take effect, and accordingly in section 18(5) of the Act of 1961 for the words from " date " to the end of the subsection there shall be substituted the words " date when the charge takes effect ".

• (4) Any such demand shall, if no appeal is brought under this section, become operative on the expiration of twenty-one days from the date of service of the demand on the person on whom the relevant notice was served; and any such demand against which an appeal is brought shall, if and so far as it is confirmed on appeal, become operative on the final determination of the appeal.

• (5) Any such demand shall, subject to the right of appeal conferred by this section, be final and conclusive as to any matters which can be raised on any such appeal and as to any matters which could have been raised on an appeal against the relevant notice under section 14(5) or 17(1) of the Act of 1961.

• (6) In section 14(4) of the Act of 1961 (under which a local authority are to inform any owner or lessee of the serving of a notice under that section), and in section 15(4) of that Act (which, as extended by section 16 of that Act, contains corresponding provisions for sections 15 and 16) after the words " or lessee " there shall be inserted the words " or mortgagee ".

• (7) The right of appeal conferred by sections 14(5) and 17(1) of the Act of 1961 (appeal against notices under sections 14, 15 and 16) shall be exercisable not only by the person on whom the notice was served but also by any other person who is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the house or building to which the notice relates.

• (8) So much of section 18 of the Act of 1961 as authorises the recovery of expenses incurred by a local authority summarily as a civil debt shall cease to have effect.

• (9) This section shall have effect as respects any notice served after the coming into force of this section.

• (10) This section shall be construed as one with Part II of the Act of 1961.

Penalty for failure to execute works under Part II of Act of 1961

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• (1) Subject to this section, if a person on whom a notice has been served under section 14, section 15 or section 16 of the Act of 1961 (power to require execution of works) wilfully fails to comply with the notice, he shall be liable on summary conviction—

• (a) in the case of a first offence under this subsection, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and

• (b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence under this subsection, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both.

• (2) In section 18(2) of the Act of 1961 (under which the local authority can carry out works specified in such a notice before the time limited by the notice if notified by the person on whom the notice was served that he does not intend to do the work) for the words " does not intend " there shall be substituted the words " is not able " , and if the local authority on being so notified serve notice that they propose to do the work and relieve the person served with the notice from liability under this section, no liability shall arise under this section in respect of the notice requiring the execution of works.

• (3) Subsection (1) of this section shall be without prejudice to the exercise by the local authority of their powers of carrying out the works under the said section 18.

• (4) Section 159 of the Act of 1957 (which confers powers of entry for the purposes mentioned in that section) shall apply to entry for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been an offence under this section, but so much of the said section 159 as requires notice to be given of the intended entry shall not apply to entry for the purpose mentioned in this subsection.

The provisions of this subsection are without prejudice to section 28(2) of the Act of 1961 (under which Part II of that Act is construed as one with the Act of 1957).

• (5) For the purposes of this section, and of section 18(1) of the Act of 1961.—

• (a) where no appeal is brought against a notice under section 14, section 15 or section 16 of that Act, the notice is not complied with if the works specified in the notice are not completed within the period so specified, with any extension duly permitted by the local authority, and

• (b) where an appeal is brought against any such notice, the notice, in so far as it is confirmed on appeal, is not complied with if the works specified in the notice are not completed within twenty-eight days from the final determination of the appeal, or such longer period as the court in determining the appeal may fix.