Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Housing Act 1969

Type Public General Act

Publication 1991-02-01

Last updated 1969-07-25

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

articles Not indexed

Reform history JSON API

PART I — Financial assistance towards cost of improvements and conversions

Grants by local authorities

Improvement grants, standard grants and special grants

1

(1) Grants shall be payable by local authorities in accordance with the following provisions of this Part of this Act towards the cost of works required for—

(a) the provision of dwellings by the conversion of houses or other buildings;

(b) the improvement of dwellings ; or

where the provision or improvement is by a person other than a housing authority.

(2) A grant under this Part of this Act is in this Act referred to as—

(a) an improvement grant, if the works are required for the provision of a dwelling or for the improvement of a dwelling not consisting or not wholly consisting of the provision of standard amenities which the dwelling lacks;

(b) a standard grant, if the works are required for the improvement of a dwelling by the provision of standard amenities which it lacks ;

(c) a special grant if the works are required for the improvement of a house in multiple occupation by the provision of standard amenities.

Improvement grants

2

(1) A local authority may pay an improvement grant if an application therefor is made in accordance with this section and approved by them.

(2) Such an application must contain particulars of the works and an estimate of their cost, and such other particulars as the Minister may specify.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, a local authority shall not entertain an application for an improvement grant if the cost of the works as estimated in the application is less than £100 or such other amount as may for the time being be prescribed.

(4) Where, not more than three years before the making of the application, a standard grant was made in respect of the dwelling (or one of the dwellings) to which the application relates and the application contains a statement of the cost towards which the standard grant was made, that cost shall be deemed, for the purposes of the preceding subsection, to be added to that estimated in the application.

(5) Where an application for an improvement grant relates to more than one dwelling then—

(a) if the dwellings are to be provided by the conversion of a house or other building, the cost referred to in subsection (3) of this section is the cost of the works divided by the number of dwellings ; and

(b) if the dwellings are to be improved, the cost referred to in subsection (3) of this section is so much of the cost of the works as is in the opinion of the local authority attributable to any one dwelling.

(6) Subject to section 25 of this Act, a local authority shall not entertain an application for an improvement grant unless they are satisfied that the applicant has, in every parcel of land on which the works specified in the application are to be or have been carried out, an interest which is either an estate in fee simple absolute in possession or a term of years absolute of which not less than five years remain unexpired at the date of the application.

Conditions for approval of application for improvement grant

3

(1) A local authority shall not approve an application for an improvement grant if the works specified therein have been begun unless they are satisfied that there were good reasons for beginning the works before the application was approved.

(2) A local authority shall not approve an application for an improvement grant unless they are satisfied that the dwelling or dwellings to which the application relates will provide satisfactory housing accommodation for such period and conform with such requirements with respect to construction and physical conditions and the provision of services and amenities as may for the time being be specified for the purposes of this section by the Minister.

Approval of application for improvement grant

4

(1) Where a local authority approve an application for an improvement grant they shall determine the amount of the expenses which, in their opinion, are proper to be incurred for the execution of the works specified in the application and shall notify the applicant of that amount; and the amount so notified is in this Part of this Act referred to as the approved expense of the works.

(2) The approved expense of any works shall not allow for works of repair and replacement more than one-half of that expense or such other part thereof as may for the time being be prescribed.

(3) Where the applicant satisfies the local authority that the works specified in the application cannot be or could not have been carried out without the carrying out of additional works and that this could not have been reasonably foreseen at the time the application was made the local authority may substitute a higher amount as the amount of the approved expense.

(4) In approving an application for an improvement grant a local authority may require as a condition of paying the grant that the works specified in the application are carried out within such time (which must not be less than twelve months) as the local authority may specify or such further time as the local authority may allow.

Amount of improvement grant

5

(1) The amount of an improvement grant shall be such amount as may be fixed by the local authority when they approve the application for the grant, but shall not exceed—

(a) one half of the approved expense of the works, nor

(b) subject to subsection (3) of this section, the limit imposed by or under subsection (2) of this section.

(2) The limit is the amount or, if the application relates to more than one dwelling, the aggregate of the amounts, applicable under the following paragraphs, that is to say.—

(a) £1,000, or such other amount as may be prescribed, if the dwelling is improved by the works or is provided by them otherwise than mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection ; and

(b) £1,200, or such other amount as may be prescribed, if the dwelling is provided by the conversion of a house or other building consisting of three or more storeys.

(3) The limit imposed by or under subsection (2) of this section may be exceeded by such amount as the Minister may approve, if the local authority are satisfied in a particular case that there are good reasons for fixing a higher amount; and the approval of the Minister may be given either with respect to a particular case or with respect to a class of case.

(4) For the purposes of this section, where an improvement grant is to be paid towards the cost of works required for the provision of a dwelling all or part of which is in the basement of a building the basement shall count as a storey.

Payment of improvement grant

6

(1) An improvement grant may be paid after the completion of the works towards the cost of which it is payable or part of it may be paid in instalments as the works progress and the balance after the completion of the works.

(2) Where part of am improvement grant is paid in instalments the aggregate of the instalments paid shall not at any time before the completion of the works exceed one half of the aggregate cost of the works executed up to that time.

(3) The payment of an improvement grant or of any part thereof shall be conditional upon the works or the corresponding part of the works being executed to the satisfaction of the local authority.

(4) If an instalment of an improvement grant is paid before the completion of the works and the works are not completed within the time specified in subsection (5) of this section, that instalment and any further sums paid by the local authority as part of the grant shall, on being demanded by the local authority, forthwith become repayable to them by the person to whom the instalment was paid and shall carry interest at such rate as may be prescribed from the date on which it was paid by the local authority until repayment.

(5) Where the local authority have specified no time under section 4(4) of this Act for the completion of the works the time referred to in subsection (4) of this section is twelve months from the date on which the instalment is paid or such further time as the local authority may allow; and where they have specified a time or allowed further time under section 4(4) of this Act the time referred to in subsection (4) of this section is the time so specified or allowed.

Standard grants

Standard amenities

7

(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section the standard amenities for the purposes of this Act shall be the amenities which are described in the Table set out in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act and conform to such of the provisions of Part II of that Schedule as are applicable.

(2) The Minister may by order vary the provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act and any such order may contain such transitional or other supplemental provisions as appear to the Minister to be expedient.

Standard grants

8

(1) A local authority shall pay a standard grant if an application therefor is made in accordance with this section and approved by them and the works are executed to the satisfaction of the local authority.

(2) Such an application must specify the dwelling and the works, and, where the works are for the provision of some only of the standard amenities, must also state whether the dwelling is already provided with the remainder.

(3) A local authority shall not entertain an application for a standard grant with respect to a dwelling provided after 2nd October 1961.

(4) Subject to section 25 of this Act a local authority shall not entertain an application for a standard grant unless they are satisfied that the applicant has, in every parcel of land on which the works specified in the application are to be or have been carried out, an interest which is either an estate in fee simple absolute in possession or a term of years absolute of which not less than five years remain unexpired at the date of the application.

Conditions for approval of application for standard grant

9

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a local authority shall approve an application for a standard grant if they are satisfied, and shall not approve it unless they are satisfied that, when the works specified in the application have been carried out.—

(a) the dwelling will be provided with all the standard amenities for the exclusive use of its occupants; and

(b) the dwelling will be in good repair, having regard to its age, character and locality, and disregarding internal decorative repair, and will in all other respects be fit for human habitation;

and that the dwelling is likely to remain fit for human habitation and available for use as a dwelling for a period of not less than fifteen years.

(2) A local authority shall not approve an application for a standard grant if the works specified therein have been begun unless they are satisfied that there were good reasons for beginning the works before the application was approved.

(3) Where the works specified in the application include works for the provision of a fixed bath or shower elsewhere than in a bathroom the local authority are not required to approve the application but may do so if otherwise they would be required or authorised to do so under this section.

(4) Where, under the preceding provisions of this section, a local authority would be required to approve an application for a standard grant if satisfied that, after the works specified in the application have been carried out, the dwelling will be provided with all the standard amenities, then, if—

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

(b) the local authority are satisfied that after the works specified in the application have been carried out the dwelling will be provided with the amenities included in the Table in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act as items 5, 6 and 7 and that item 7 will conform to the provisions of paragraph 3 of Part II of that Schedule,

the local authority shall approve the application notwithstanding that the dwelling will not be provided with all the standard amenities, unless they are satisfied that the dwelling is or forms part of a house or building in respect of which they have power to serve a notice under section 15 of the Housing Act 1961 or that section as extended by section 21 of that Act (power to require execution of works).

(5) In considering for the purposes of the preceding subsection whether it would be 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 for that purpose and the value which it is estimated the dwelling (or the building of which it forms part) would have if works to provide the dwelling with all the standard amenities were carried out.

(6) Where the works specified in the application are to be carried out in compliance with an improvement notice served, or undertaking accepted, under Part II of the Housing Act 1964 and comprise the provision of a fixed bath or shower, then.—

(a) if the fixed bath or shower is to be provided in a bathroom, the conditions stated in subsection (1) of this section shall, if otherwise satisfied, be deemed to be satisfied notwithstanding that the bath or shower is for the use of the occupants of more than one dwelling in a tenement block (within the meaning of Part II of that Act); and

(b) if the fixed bath or shower is to be provided elsewhere than in a bathroom, this section shall apply as if subsection (3) thereof were omitted.

(7) Subject to such general or special directions as may from time to time be given by the Minister, a local authority may approve an application for a standard grant notwithstanding that the conditions stated in subsection (1) of this section are not satisfied.

(8) An order under section 7(2) of this Act may vary the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.

Approval of application for standard grant

10

In approving an application for a standard grant a local authority may require as a condition of paying the grant that the works specified in the application are carried out within such time (which must not be less than twelve months) as the local authority may specify or such further time as the local authority may allow.

Amount of standard grant

11

(1) The amount of a standard grant made towards the cost of any works shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be one half of that cost.

(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 preceding subsection.

(3) There shall be a limit on the amount of a standard grant, which shall be determined in accordance with Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act.

Effect of standard grant on amount of improvement grant

12

Where after the making of a standard grant in respect of a dwelling an improvement grant is made in respect of that dwelling, section 5(2) of this Act shall have effect, in relation to that dwelling, as if the sum specified in or prescribed under paragraph (a) thereof were reduced by the amount of the standard grant.

Special grants

13

(1) A local authority may pay a special grant if an application therefor is made in accordance with this section and approved by them and the works are executed to the satisfaction of the local authority.

(2) Such an application must specify the house and the works, and must state by how many households and individuals the house is occupied and with what standard amenities it is already provided.

(3) A local authority shall not entertain an application for a special grant unless they are satisfied that the applicant has, in every parcel of land on which the works specified in the application are to be or have been carried out, an interest which is either an estate in fee simple absolute in possession or a term of years absolute of which not less than five years remain unexpired at the date of the application.

(4) Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act shall apply for the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to special grants as if paragraphs 2 and 3 and, in paragraph 1, the words from " except" onwards, were omitted.

Approval of application for special grant

14

(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section and to any general or special directions which may be given by the Minister for the purposes of this section, a local authority may approve an application for a special grant in such circumstances as they think fit.

(2) A local authority shall not approve an application for a special grant if the works specified therein have been begun, unless they are satisfied that there were good reasons for beginning the works before the application was approved.

(3) In approving an application for a special grant a local authority may require as a condition of paying the grant that the works specified in the application are carried out within such time (which must not be less than twelve months) as the local authority may specify or such further time as the local authority may allow.

Amount of special grant

15

(1) The amount of a special grant made towards the cost of any works shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be one half of that cost.

(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 preceding subsection.

(3) The amount of a special grant shall not exceed the sum arrived at by allowing for each of the standard amenities provided the amount specified for an amenity of that description in the third column of the Table set out in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act.

Contributions towards grants

16

(1) The Minister may make a contribution towards the expense incurred by a local authority in making a grant under this Part of this Act.

(2) The contribution shall be a sum payable annually for a period of twenty years beginning with the financial year in which the works towards the cost of which the grant was made were completed, equal to three-quarters of the annual loan charges referable to the amount of the grant.

Contributions towards cost of improvements and conversions carried out by or under arrangements with housing authorities

Contributions to local authorities and other bodies for dwellings improved by them or provided by them by conversion

17

(1) The Minister may pay contributions to housing authorities towards the cost incurred by them in—

(a) the provision of dwellings by the conversion of houses or other buildings ; or

(b) the improvement of dwellings ;

in such circumstances as appear to the Minister to be sufficiently similar to those in which a grant under this Part of this Act might be paid by a local authority had the provision or improvement been by a person other than a housing authority.

(2) Such a contribution is in the following provisions of this Part of this Act referred to as—

(a) a standard contribution, if the cost is incurred only in the improvement of dwellings by the provision of standard amenities which they lack ; and

(b) as an improvement contribution in any other case.

Improvement contributions

18

(1) The Minister may pay an improvement contribution with respect to any dwellings if an application therefor containing such estimates and particulars as he may require is made by a housing authority and approved by him.

(2) When approving the application the Minister shall determine an amount as the allowable cost and that amount shall, subject to the limit imposed by or under the following provisions of this section, be one-half of the aggregate of—

(a) the amount appearing to him to be the cost proper to be incurred by the housing authority for the purpose of carrying out any works required for the provision or improvement of the dwellings ; and

(b) the cost (if any) incurred by the housing authority in acquiring an estate or interest in any building for the purpose of converting it into any of the dwellings or acquiring any estate or interest in any of the dwellings for the purpose of improving it.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the allowable cost shall not exceed the amount arrived at by taking for each dwelling provided or improved £1,000 or such other sum as the Minister may by order specify, unless the case belongs to a class with respect to which the Minister, on being satisfied that there is good reason for doing so, has determined a higher amount or the Minister is satisfied that in the circumstances of the particular case there is good reason for determining a higher amount.

(4) Where the dwelling is one in which the housing authority have acquired an estate or interest for the purpose of improving it or is a dwelling provided by the conversion of a house or other building in which the housing authority have acquired an estate or interest for the purpose of converting it into dwellings, subsection (3) of this section shall have effect, with respect to the dwelling, as if £1,250 or such other sum as the Minister may by order specify were substituted for that specified by or under that subsection.

(5) The improvement contribution shall be a sum payable annually for a period of twenty years beginning with the financial year in which the works required for the provision or improvement of the dwellings are completed, equal to three-quarters of the annual loan charges referable to the allowable cost.

Standard contributions

19

(1) The Minister may pay a standard contribution with respect to any dwelling if an application therefor containing such estimates and particulars as he may require is made by a housing authority and approved by him.

(2) A standard contribution shall be a sum payable annually for a period of twenty years beginning with the financial year in which the works required for the provision of the standard amenities are completed, equal to three-quarters of the annual loan charges referable to the allowable cost.

(3) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the allowable cost with respect to any standard amenities shall be one-half of the cost shown to have been incurred in carrying out the works required for providing them.

(4) 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 subsection (3) of this section.

(5) There shall be a limit on the allowable cost, which shall be determined in accordance with Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act.

Effect of standard contribution on amount of improvement contribution

20

Where an application for an improvement contribution with respect to any dwelling is approved after the approval of an application for a standard contribution with respect to the same dwelling section 18 of this Act shall apply in relation to that dwelling as if the limit imposed by or under subsections (3) and (4) of that section were reduced by the amount of the allowable cost determined under section 19 of this Act.

Contributions for dwellings provided or improved by housing associations under arrangements with local authorities

21

(1) Where any arrangements between a local authority and a housing association under section 121 of the Act of 1957 (arrangements for provision of dwellings by conversion or for improvement of dwellings) are made after the passing of this Act the following provisions of this section shall apply (and accordingly section 12 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1958 and section 12 of the Housing Subsidies Act 1967 shall not apply).

(2) The approval of the Minister, both to the making of the arrangements and to the terms thereof, may be given either generally to local authorities or to any local authority or class of local authority or in any particular case and may be given unconditionally or subject to any conditions.

(3) The Minister shall pay a contribution towards the cost of carrying out the arrangements if an application therefor containing such particulars and estimates as the Minister may require is made by the local authority and the local authority certify, in such form as the Minister may direct, that the arrangements and the terms thereof comply with any conditions subject to which his approval was given, and that in their opinion the dwellings will provide satisfactory housing accommodation for such period and conform with such requirements with respect to construction and physical conditions and the provision of services and amenities as may for the time being be specified for the purposes of this section by the Minister.

(4) The Minister shall determine an amount as the allowable cost for the purposes of the contribution and that amount shall, subject to the limit imposed by or under the following provisions of this section, be one-half of the aggregate of—

(a) the amount certified by the local authority as appearing to them to be the cost proper to be incurred by the housing association for the purpose of executing any work required under the arrangements ; and

(b) the amount certified by the local authority as being the cost incurred by the housing association in acquiring any estate or interest in any building or dwelling with a view to entering into or for the purpose of carrying out the arrangements.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the allowable cost shall not exceed the amount arrived at by taking for each dwelling provided or improved £1,000 or such other sum as the Minister may by order specify, unless the case belongs to a class with respect to which the Minister, on being satisfied that there is good reason for doing so, has determined a higher amount or the Minister is satisfied that in the circumstances of the particular case there is good reason for determining a higher amount.

(6) Where the dwelling is one in which the housing association have acquired an estate or interest with a view to entering into the arrangements or for the purpose of carrying them out or is a dwelling provided by the conversion of a house or other building in which the housing association have acquired an estate or interest with that view or for that purpose, subsection (5) of this section shall have effect, with respect to that dwelling, as if £1,250 or such other sum as the Minister may by order specify were substituted for that specified by or under that subsection.

(7) The contribution shall be a sum payable annually for a period of twenty years beginning with the financial year in which the works carried out in pursuance of the arrangements are completed, equal to three-quarters of the annual loan charges referable to the allowable cost; and for the purposes of this subsection the definition of " annual loan charges " in section 86(5) of this Act shall have effect as if the reference to a housing authority were a reference to a housing association.

(8) A contribution under this section shall be paid to the local authority, who shall pay to the housing association by way of annual grant an amount not less than the contribution.

(9) Where a dwelling is provided or improved by a housing association in pursuance of arrangements in respect of which a contribution is paid under this section, no grant under this Part of this Act shall be made to the housing association towards the cost of improving the dwelling.

(10) The Greater London Council shall be a local authority for the purposes of this section.

Power to vary contributions

22

(1) The Minister may by order vary, with respect to grants, improvement contributions or standard contributions made in pursuance of applications approved after such date as may be specified in the order, or with respect to contributions made under the preceding section in pursuance of arrangements made after a date so specified, the sum payable annually under section 16, or as the case may be, section 18, 19 or 21 of this Act.

(2) An order under this section—

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

(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 housing authority with whom consultation appears to him to be desirable.

(3) The council of a county shall be a local authority for the purposes of this section.

Supplemental

Statement of reasons for not approving application for grant or fixing less than maximum for improvement grant

23

Where a local authority do not approve an application for a grant under this Part of this Act or fix the amount of an improvement grant at less than the maximum authorised by section 5 of this Act they shall state to the applicant in writing their reasons for doing so.

Assistance for works specified in applications for grants under former enactments

24

For the purpose of allowing an application for an improvement grant or standard grant to be made notwithstanding that all or some of the works to be specified therein were specified in an application (made before the commencement of this Act) for an improvement grant under section 30 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1958 or a standard grant under section 4 of the House Purchase and Housing Act 1959, the local authority shall allow that application to be withdrawn, whether or not it has been approved, unless they are satisfied that the works specified in the application have been begun.

Special provisions as to parsonages, almshouses, etc.

25

Sections 2(6) and 8(4) of this Act do not apply in relation to—

(a) an application for a grant under this Part of this Act in respect of glebe land or the residence house of an ecclesiastical benefice made, during a period when the benefice is vacant, by a sequestrator of the profits thereof; or

(b) an application for such a grant in respect of a building held upon trust for use as an almshouse or as the residence of a minister of any religious denomination made by the trustees exercising the powers of management of the trust estate ; or

(c) an application for such a grant made on behalf of a charity where land to which the application relates is land which, or an interest in which, is vested in the official custodian for charities or any other custodian trustee in trust for the charity;

and do not apply in relation to any land which is proposed to be sold or leased to the applicant under section 105(2) of the Act of 1957 (power to dispose of land for the purpose of carrying out works in connection with work on an adjoining house).

Local authorities for purposes of Part I

26

The local authorities for the purposes of this Part of this Act are the councils of boroughs, urban districts and rural districts and the Common Council of the City of London.

Interpretation

27

In this Part of this Act—

" house in multiple occupation " means a house which is occupied by persons who do not form a single household;

" housing authority " means the council of a county, county borough, London borough or county district, the Greater London Council, the Common Council of the City of London, the Commission for the New Towns or a development corporation within the meaning of the New Towns Act 1965 ;

" improvement " includes alteration and enlargement and such repairs and replacements as are either incidental to some other improvement or needed (in the opinion of the person paying any grant or contribution) for the purpose of making the other improvement fully effective;

" improvement grant " has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(2) of this Act;

" prescribed ", except where the context otherwise requires, means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister ;

" special grant " and " standard grant " have the meanings assigned to them by section 1(2) of this Act.

PART II — General Improvement Areas

General improvement areas

28

(1) Where a report with respect to a predominantly residential area within the district of a local authority is submitted to them by a person or persons appearing to the authority to be suitably qualified (whether or not that person is or those persons include an officer of the authority) and it appears to the authority, upon consideration of the report and of any other information in their possession, that living conditions in the area ought to be improved by the improvement of the amenities of the area or of dwellings therein or both and that such an improvement may be effected or assisted by the exercise of their powers under this Act, the authority may cause the area to be defined on a map and by resolution declare it to be a general improvement area.

(2) As soon as may be after passing a resolution declaring an area to be a general improvement area the local authority shall—

(a) publish in two or more newspapers circulating in the locality (of which one at least shall, if practicable, be a local newspaper) a notice of the resolution identifying the area and naming a place or places where a copy of the resolution, of the map on which the area is defined and of the report mentioned in subsection (1) of this section may be inspected at all reasonable times ;

(b) take such further steps as may appear to them best designed to secure that the resolution is brought to the attention of persons residing in the area or owning property therein and that those persons are informed of the name and address of the person to whom any enquiries and representations concerning any action to be taken in the exercise of the local authority's powers under this Part of this Act should be addressed ; and

(c) send to the Minister a copy of the resolution, of the report and of the map and a statement of the number of dwellings in the area.

Mutual exclusion of general improvement areas and clearance areas

29

(1) A general improvement area shall not be so defined as to include (but may be so defined as to surround)—

(a) any land comprised in an area declared to be a clearance area under Part III of the Act of 1957,

(b) any land purchased under section 43(3) of that Act as being land surrounded by or adjoining a clearance area, or

unless the land has been cleared of buildings.

(2) Where the Minister on confirming a compulsory purchase order under Schedule 3 to the Act of 1957 or a clearance order under Schedule 5 to that Act modifies the order by excluding from a clearance area any land adjoining a general improvement area, that land shall, unless the Minister otherwise directs, be deemed to be included in the general improvement area.

(3) A clearance area under Part III of the Act of 1957 shall not be so defined as to include any land which is for the time being included in a general improvement area.

Changes with respect to general improvement area

30

(1) A local authority may by resolution—

(a) exclude from a general improvement area any land for the time being included therein ; or

(b) declare an area to be no longer a general improvement area;

but such a resolution shall be of no effect unless approved by the Minister.

(2) Where it appears to a local authority desirable in the interests of the improvement of the amenities of an area which has been declared a general improvement area that any land adjoining the area should be included in the general improvement area, they may by resolution include the land in the general improvement area and cause the general improvement area to be re-defined accordingly.

(3) As soon as may be after passing a resolution in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section the local authority shall—

(a) publish in two or more newspapers circulating in the locality (of which one at least shall, if practicable, be a local newspaper) a notice of the resolution identifying the land included in the area by the resolution and naming a place or places where a copy of the resolution, and of the map on which the general improvement area is re-defined, may be inspected at all reasonable times; and

(b) send to the Minister a copy of the resolution and of the map and a statement of the number of dwellings on the land.

Duty to publish information

31

Where a local authority have declared an area to be a general improvement area it shall be their duty to bring to the attention of persons residing in the area or owning property therein the action they propose to take in the exercise of their powers under this Part of this Act and the assistance available for the improvement of the amenities of the area or of the dwellings therein by publishing from time to time, in such manner as appears to them appropriate, such information as is in their opinion best designed to further the objects of this Part of this Act.

General powers exercisable by local authority in general improvement area

32

(1) Where a local authority have declared an area to be a general improvement area they may, for the purpose of effecting or assisting any such improvement as is mentioned in section 28(1) of this Act—

(a) carry out any works on land owned by them and assist (whether by grants or loans or otherwise) in the carrying out of any works on land not owned by them ;

(b) acquire any land by agreement;

and may be authorised by the Minister to acquire compulsorily any land within the general improvement area or adjoining that area.

(2) The Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 shall apply to a compulsory acquisition of land under this section as if this section had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act.

(3) Where a local authority acquire land in pursuance of this section it shall be their duty to secure that any persons who may be displaced from residential accommodation on the land and for whom no suitable accommodation is otherwise available on reasonable terms will be provided with such accommodation before the displacement.

(4) Section 144 of the Act of 1957 (obligation to rehouse in certain circumstances) shall not apply to any acquisition of land under this section.

(5) Nothing in this section shall enable a local authority to improve any dwelling which has not been acquired or provided by them in pursuance of this section or to make any grant towards the cost of any works in any case where such a grant might be made under Part I of this Act.

Conversion of highway into footpath or bridle-way

33

(1) A local authority may, with respect to any such highway in a general improvement area declared by them as is mentioned in subsection (1) of section 92 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1968 (conversion of highway into footpath or bridle-way) exercise the powers of a local planning authority under that section, whether or not they are the local planning authority; but where they are not the local planning authority they shall not make an application under subsection (2) or subsection (8) of that section except with the consent of the local planning authority; and where they are neither the local planning authority nor the highway authority any such application made by them shall in the first place be sent to the highway authority, who shall transmit it to the responsible Minister (within the meaning of that section).

(2) Where an order under subsection (2) of section 92 of that Act has been made on the application, by virtue of this section, of a local authority who are not the local planning authority.—

(a) any compensation under subsection (5) of that section shall be payable by them instead of by the local planning authority; and

(b) the local authority may exercise the powers exercisable by them under section 93 of that Act as the competent authority for the purposes of that section without the consent of the local planning authority.

Protection against blight

34

Where, in pursuance of section 31 of this Act, a local authority have published information indicating that they propose to acquire any land in the exercise of their powers under this Part of this Act, sections 139 to 151 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1962 (protection of interests in land affected by planning proposals) shall have effect as if—

(a) the land were included in that specified in subsection (1) of section 138 of that Act and its description in the definition of " the specified descriptions " in subsection (5) of that section; and

(b) in section 139(3) of that Act " the relevant date " were defined, in relation to the land, as the date on which the information was first published ;

and section 152 of that Act (no withdrawal of constructive notice to treat) shall have effect accordingly; and section 34 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1968 (power of mortgagee to serve blight notice) shall apply in relation to the land as it applies in relation to land of the description mentioned in subsection (2) of that section.

Disposal and appropriation of land

35

(1) Where any land for the time being vested in a local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act—

(a) consists of or forms part of an open space; or

(b) has been compulsorily acquired under this Part of this Act;

the local authority shall not dispose of it except with the consent of the Minister.

(2) Where the disposal of any land vested in a local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act is not subject to the consent of the Minister in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section they shall not, without his consent, sell, exchange or, subject to subsection (4) of this section, let it for a price, consideration or rent less than the best that can reasonably be obtained, having regard to any restrictions or conditions (including conditions as to payment or the giving of security for payment) subject to which the land is sold, exchanged or let.

(3) For the purposes of this section land shall be taken to have been acquired by an authority compulsorily if it was acquired by agreement at a time when they were authorised to acquire it compulsorily.

(4) The consent of the Minister under the preceding provisions of this section may be given either generally to local authorities or to any local authority or class of local authority or in any particular case and may be given either unconditionally or subject to any conditions; and the consent of the Minister under subsection (2) of this section shall not be required to any letting for a term not exceeding seven years.

(5) Where a local authority acquire any land in pursuance of this Part of this Act they shall comply with such general or special directions as may be given by the Minister as to the exercise of their power to appropriate the land for the purposes of Part V of the Act of 1957 (provision of housing accommodation).

(6) The power of a local authority under section 32(1)(a) of this Act to carry out works on land owned by them may, with the approval of the Minister given (with or without limitation) either generally or in a particular case, be exercised notwithstanding that they have not appropriated the land for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

(7) In this section " open space" means any land laid out as a public garden or used for the purposes of public recreation, and any disused burial ground ; and section 29 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1959 (protection of persons deriving title to land under transactions requiring consent) applies to any transaction requiring consent under this section.

Standard grants in general improvement area

36

Where an application for a standard grant under Part I of this Act is made with respect to a dwelling in a general improvement area the local authority shall not be required to approve it but may approve it if they would otherwise be required or authorised to do so.

Contributions to local authorities towards expenditure incurred under this Part of this Act

37

(1) The Minister may, subject to any directions of the Treasury, pay a contribution to a local authority towards such expenditure incurred by them under this Part of this Act—

(a) in carrying out works or providing any land ; or

(b) in making contributions to any other authority or person towards expenses which might be so incurred by the local authority;

as he may approve for the purposes of this section on an application by the local authority made, where the expenditure is incurred in carrying out any works, before the works are begun.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the cost of any works shall be taken to be the amount certified by the local authority as appearing to them to be the cost likely to be incurred by them in carrying out those works ; and

(b) the cost of any land acquired by a local authority under this Part of this Act shall be taken to be the expenses incurred by the authority in connection with the acquisition, and the cost of any land appropriated by a local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act shall be taken to be such amount as the Minister may determine.

(3) A contribution under this section shall be a sum payable annually for a period of twenty years beginning with the financial year in which the relevant works are completed, equal to one-half of the annual loan charges referable to the expenditure approved for the purposes of this section.

(4) The aggregate of any expenditure approved for the purposes of this section (whether on one or more applications) in respect of any general improvement area shall not exceed the sum arrived at by multiplying £100 by the number of dwellings stated by the local authority under the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act to be in the area or, if it appears to the Minister that there will be an increased number of dwellings in the area, by that increased number; but the Minister may, for the purposes of this subsection—

(a) treat two adjoining general improvement areas as one; or

(b) treat the addition, in pursuance of section 30 of this Act, of land to a general improvement area as the declaration of a separate general improvement area.

(5) The Minister may, with the consent of the Treasury, by order substitute another amount for the amount of £100 mentioned in subsection (4) of this section, and a statutory instrument containing such an order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.

(6) For the purposes of this section the relevant works, in relation to any expenditure, are—

(a) if the expenditure is incurred in carrying out any works, those works; and

(b) if the expenditure is incurred in providing any land on which works are to be carried out, those works.

(7) Where any arrangement made between a local authority and a housing association so provides, any expenditure incurred by the housing association in pursuance of the arrangement which might have been incurred by the local authority under this Part of this Act shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section as if it were expenditure so incurred by the local authority; and where any such expenditure is approved by the Minister for the purposes of this section—

(a) subsection (3) of this section shall have effect, in relation to it, as if in the definition of " annual loan charges " in section 86(5) of this Act the reference to a housing authority were a reference to a housing association; and

(b) the local authority shall pay to the housing association by way of annual grant an amount not less than so much of the contribution paid to the local authority under this section as is referable to that expenditure.

Effect of contribution under section 37 on Housing Revenue Account

38

Where any expenditure incurred by a local authority in relation to any houses or other land for the time being vested in them for the purposes of Part V of the Act of 1957 has been approved for the purposes of section 37 of this Act, then, notwithstanding section 50 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1958, neither the expenditure nor the contribution under section 37 shall be carried to the Housing Revenue Account, except with the consent of the Minister.

Local authorities for purposes of Part II

39

Subject to section 40 of this Act, the local authorities for the purposes of this Part of this Act are the councils of boroughs, urban districts and rural districts and the Common Council of the City of London.

Special provisions as to Greater London

40

(1) The Greater London Council may exercise the powers of a local authority under sections 28 and 30 of this Act with respect to any area in Greater London, but only with the agreement of any local authority in whose district the area or any part of the area is situated.

(2) In relation to any house or other land in a general improvement area declared by the Greater London Council—

(a) the Greater London Council shall be deemed to be a local authority for the purposes of sections 17 to 22 and 74 of this Act and shall be deemed to be the local authority, to the exclusion of any other authority, for the purposes of the provisions of Part I of this Act other than sections 17 to 22, this Part, Part III and section 75 of this Act, and Part II of the Act of 1957; and

(b) any functions exercisable by the council of a London borough or the Common Council of the City of London under Part IV of the Act of 1957, Part II of the Housing Act 1961, section 19, 20 or 21 of the Housing Act 1964 or Part IV of that Act shall be so exercisable only after consultation with the Greater London Council.

Discontinuance of power to declare improvement area

41

No further area shall be declared an improvement area under section 13 of the Housing Act 1964; and (without prejudice to the power of a local authority to take such action under Part II of that Act as appears to them appropriate with respect to dwellings in an area declared an improvement area before the commencement of this Act) subsection (4) of that section (which imposes an express duty to take action) shall not apply in a general improvement area.

Repeal of provisions relating to re-development areas

42

Sections 55 to 57 of the Act of 1957 (which make provision for the declaration of re-development areas and the purchase of land for purposes of re-development) shall cease to have effect.

PART III — Rent of Dwellings in Good Repair and Provided with Standard Amenities

Conversion of controlled tenancies

Conversion of controlled tenancies of dwellings provided with standard amenities and in good repair

43

(1) The following provisions of this section shall have effect with respect to a controlled tenancy of a dwelling which is certified by the local authority, on the application of the landlord, to satisfy the following conditions, that is to say, that it is provided with all the standard amenities for the exclusive use of its occupants, that it is in good repair, having regard to its age, character and locality and disregarding internal decorative repair, and that it is in all other respects fit for human habitation.

(2) Except in the case mentioned in subsection (3) of this section the tenancy shall become a regulated tenancy on the issue of the certificate or (unless the tenancy has then become a regulated tenancy apart from this Act or has ceased to exist) on such later date as is specified in section 50 of this Act or an order made thereunder.

(3) If the controlled tenancy is one to which Part II of the Act of 1954 would apply, apart from section 9(3) of the Rent Act 1968, or would so apply if the controlled tenancy were a tenancy within the meaning of the Act of 1954, it shall, on the issue of the certificate, cease to be a controlled tenancy and shall then be treated as a tenancy continuing by virtue of section 24 of the Act of 1954 after the expiry of a term of years certain.

(4) Section 46 of the Rent Act 1968 (determination of fair rent) shall apply in relation to a controlled tenancy which becomes a regulated tenancy by virtue of this Part of this Act as if the references in subsection (3) thereof to the tenant under the regulated tenancy included references to the tenant under the controlled tenancy.

(5) The conditions mentioned in subsection (1) of this section are in this Part of this Act referred to as the qualifying conditions and a certificate issued in accordance with this section as a qualification certificate.

(6) In this section " the Act of 1954 " means the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.

Application for qualification certificate

44

(1) Except where an application for a qualification certificate is made under subsection (2) of this section it shall not be entertained unless either—

(a) the dwelling has at all times since the commencement of this Act been provided with all the standard amenities; or

(b) any of the standard amenities previously lacking were provided by means of works begun before the commencement of this Act;

and shall not be entertained while the conditions of Schedule 4 to the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1958 fall to be observed with respect to the dwelling.

(2) An application for a qualification certificate may be made with respect to a dwelling notwithstanding that at the time of the making of the application the dwelling lacks one or more of the standard amenities, if the application is made (whether or not as part of or in conjunction with an application for a grant under Part I of this Act) before any works are begun for providing the dwelling with the standard amenities which it lacks.

(3) An application for a qualification certificate must state the name of the tenant under the controlled tenancy and, if the application is made at a time when the dwelling does not satisfy the qualifying conditions, must state what works are required for those conditions to be satisfied and must be accompanied by plans and specifications of those works.

(4) Before considering an application for a qualification certificate a local authority shall send a copy of the application to the person named in the application as the tenant.

Procedure on applications under section 44(1)

45

(1) Where an application for a qualification certificate is made under section 44(1) of this Act the local authority shall, before considering it, serve on the person named in the application as the tenant a notice in the prescribed form—

(a) informing him that he may, within twenty-eight days from the service of the notice or such other time as may be prescribed, make representations to the authority that the dwelling does not satisfy the qualifying conditions; and

(b) containing such other information or explanation of the effect of this Part of this Act as may be prescribed.

(2) Where the local authority are satisfied, after considering any representations made in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section, that the dwelling satisfies the qualifying conditions, they shall issue to the applicant a qualification certificate, but if they are not so satisfied they shall give notice to the applicant of their refusal of his application; and they shall send a copy of the certificate or of the notice to the tenant.

Procedure on applications under section 44(2)

46

(1) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, where an application for a qualification certificate in respect of any dwelling is made under section 44(2) of this Act and it appears to the local authority that the dwelling will satisfy the qualifying conditions when the works specified in the application have been carried out, the local authority shall approve the application provisionally and shall issue to the applicant a certificate of provisional approval and send a copy thereof to the tenant.

(2) The provisions of Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect for enabling a person who has obtained a certificate of provisional approval to apply for a certificate of fair rent.

(3) On the production by the applicant of a certificate of fair rent and on being satisfied that the dwelling satisfies the qualifying conditions the local authority shall issue the qualification certificate and shall send a copy of it to the tenant.

(4) If at the time the qualification certificate is issued the state of the dwelling differs in any respect from that which, at the time the application for the certificate was made, it could be expected to be in when the works specified in the application had been carried out, the local authority shall specify the differences in the certificate.

(5) In the case mentioned in section 43(3) of this Act the local authority shall not issue a certificate of provisional approval but shall, notwithstanding that the application is made under section 44(2) of this Act, issue the qualification certificate as soon as they are satisfied that the dwelling satisfies the qualifying conditions and send a copy of the certificate to the tenant.

Registration of rent after issue of qualification certificate

47

(1) Where a controlled tenancy of a dwelling has become a regulated tenancy by virtue of this Part of this Act an application by the landlord for the first registration of a rent for the dwelling under Part IV of the Rent Act 1968 must be accompanied by a copy of the qualification certificate and, if the certificate was issued under section 46(3) of this Act, also by a copy of the certificate of fair rent.

(2) Part II of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect, in lieu of Schedule 6 to the Rent Act 1968, with respect to an application made in pursuance of this section in a case where a qualification certificate has been issued under section 46(3) of this Act.

Statement of reasons for refusing certificate

48

Where, on an application for a qualification certificate, a local authority refuse to issue the certificate or to issue a certificate of provisional approval, they shall give the applicant a written statement of their reasons for the refusal.

Appeal in certain cases against issue or refusal of qualification certificate

49

(1) Within twenty-eight days of the service on him under section 45(2) of this Act of a notice of refusal or such longer period as the county court may allow the applicant for a qualification certificate may appeal to the county court on the ground that the certificate ought to be issued; and on such an appeal the court may confirm the refusal or order the local authority to issue the certificate.

(2) Within twenty-eight days of the service on him under section 45(2) of this Act of a copy of a qualification certificate or such longer period as the county court may allow the tenant may appeal to the county court on either or both of the following grounds, that is to say—

(a) that the certificate ought not to have been issued;

(b) that the certificate is invalid by reason of a failure to comply with any requirement of this Part of this Act or of some informality, defect, or error;

and on any such appeal the court may confirm or quash the certificate, but if the appeal is on the ground mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection the court shall confirm the certificate unless satisfied that the interests of the appellant have been substantially prejudiced by the facts relied on by him.

(3) The following provisions shall apply on an appeal under this section, that is to say—

(a) the court shall have regard to the state of the dwelling at the time of the hearing as well as at the time of the issue or refusal of the certificate; and

(b) the court shall make no order for costs unless it appears to the court, having regard to the conduct of the parties and all other circumstances, that it would be equitable to do so.

(4) Any certificate issued in pursuance of an order made under subsection (1) of this section shall be deemed to be issued on the date of the order.

(5) Where a qualification certificate with respect to any dwelling is quashed by an order under this section after a rent for the dwelling has been registered in pursuance of this Part of this Act the registration shall be deemed never to have had effect and the rent officer shall delete it on being informed of the order.

Postponement in certain cases of effect of qualification certificate

50

(1) Where a qualification certificate with respect to a dwelling is issued under section 45(2) of this Act before the date applicable to the dwelling under the following provisions of this section, the controlled tenancy of the dwelling shall not become a regulated tenancy by virtue of this Part of this Act until that date ; and in those provisions " value " means the rateable value on the appropriate day as ascertained for the purposes of Part I of the Rent Act 1968.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section—

(a) 1st January 1971 is the date applicable to a dwelling in Greater London of a value of £90 or more and a dwelling elsewhere of a value of £60 or more ;

(b) 1st July 1971 is the date applicable to a dwelling in Greater London of a value of less than £90 but not less than £60 and a dwelling elsewhere of a value of less than £60 but not less than £40;

(c) 1st January 1972 is the date applicable to a dwelling in Greater London of a value of less than £60 and a dwelling elsewhere of a value of less than £40.

(3) The Minister may by order substitute as the date applicable to a dwelling of such value as may be specified in the order a date earlier than that which would be applicable to it under subsection (2) of this section; and an order under this section may make different provision with respect to different registration areas.

Modification of Rent Act 1968 in relation to tenancies converted under this Part of this Act

51

(1) Where an application for a qualification certificate has been made with respect to any dwelling any notice of increase under Part V of the Rent Act 1968 which is served after the date of the application shall be void so far as it relates to an increase authorised by section 56 of that Act (improvements) unless—

(a) the application was made under section 44(1) of this Act and the notice is served before the date applicable to the dwelling under section 50 of this Act; or

(b) the application has been withdrawn ; or

(c) the certificate has been refused and either the time for appealing against the refusal has expired or the refusal has been confirmed on appeal or the appeal has been abandoned; or

(d) the certificate has been quashed on appeal.

(2) Where a controlled tenancy becomes a regulated tenancy by virtue of this Part of this Act—

(a) it shall be disregarded for the purposes of section 20(3)(a) of the Rent Act 1968 (limit of rent during contractual periods);

(b) sections 22 to 24 of that Act (limit of rent during statutory periods) shall have effect in relation to the tenancy as if references therein to the last contractual period were references to the last rental period beginning before the tenancy becomes a regulated tenancy; and

(c) sections 21(5) and 25(1) of that Act (effect of improvements on limit of rent before registration) shall not apply to any improvement effected before the tenancy becomes a regulated tenancy.

Recovery of rent increases due to provisions of this Part of this Act, etc.

52

Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for securing that where an increase in the rent payable under a regulated tenancy results from this Part of this Act or from works carried out with assistance provided under Part I of this Act it may be recovered only in such stages as are permitted under that Schedule.

Miscellaneous and supplementary provisions

Modification of Rent Act 1968 in relation to improvements assisted under Part I of this Act

53

Sections 21(5) and 25(1) of the Rent Act 1968 (effect of improvements on limit of rent before registration) shall not apply to any improvements with respect to which a grant under Part I of this Act is payable or has been paid.

54

(1) Where a dwelling which is subject to a controlled tenancy does not satisfy the qualifying conditions, and the works required for those conditions to be satisfied cannot be carried out without the consent of the tenant, then, if those works are specified in an application for a certificate of fair rent, his consent shall be of no effect unless given or confirmed in writing after the issue of the certificate.

(2) Where a dwelling which is subject to a statutory tenancy (whether a controlled or a regulated tenancy) does not satisfy the qualifying conditions and the works required for those conditions to be satisfied cannot be carried out without the consent of the tenant but the tenant is unwilling to give or confirm his consent, then, if the conditions specified in subsection (3) of this section are satisfied, the county court may, on the application of the landlord, make an order empowering him to enter and carry out the works.

(3) The said conditions are—

(a) that the works were specified in an application for a certificate of fair rent and the certificate has been issued; and

(b) that, if the statutory tenancy is a regulated tenancy, the works were also specified in an application for a grant under Part I of this Act and the application has been approved; and

(4) An order under subsection (2) of this section may be made subject to such conditions as to the time at which the works are to be carried out and as to any provision to be made for the accommodation of the tenant and his household whilst they are carried out as the court may think fit; and where such an order is made subject to any condition as to time, compliance with that condition shall be deemed to be also compliance with any condition imposed by the local authority under section 4(4) or section 10 of this Act.

(5) In determining whether to make such an order and, if it is made, subject to what, if any, conditions, the court shall have regard to all the circumstances and, in particular, to any disadvantage to the tenant that might be expected to result from the works, the accommodation that might be available for him whilst the works are carried out, his means in relation to the increase of rent that would result and the stages in which that increase would become recoverable under the provisions of this Part of this Act.

Restriction on powers of court under section 54

55

(1) On an application under section 54(2) of this Act with respect to any dwelling the court shall not make an order empowering the landlord to enter and carry out any works if, not earlier than six months before the hearing, the rating authority for the area in which the dwelling is situated have certified that the tenant's income is within the limits for rate relief.

(2) The rating authority shall, on the application of the tenant, certify that his means are within the limits for rate relief if—

(a) he has been granted a rate rebate under section 49 of the General Rate Act 1967 for the rebate period in which his application for the certificate is made ; or

(b) he would, on an application duly made, be entitled to such a rebate for that period or would be so entitled but for section 16(2) of the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966; or

(c) his reckonable rates for that period do not exceed £3 15s. 0d. and his reckonable income does not exceed the appropriate limit;

and for the purposes of this subsection a person's reckonable rates for any period and the question whether his reckonable income exceeds the appropriate limit shall be determined as on an application for a rate rebate.

(3) An application for a certificate under this section must state the name and address of the landlord; and if on such an application the rating authority issue a certificate they shall send a copy of it to the person named in the application in pursuance of this subsection.

(4) For the purposes of any proceedings under section 54(2) of this Act any document purporting to be a certificate issued by a rating authority under this section and to be signed by the clerk to that authority shall be deemed to be such a certificate unless the contrary is proved.

(5) Any person who, for the purpose of obtaining such a certificate—

(a) furnishes any information which he knows to be false in a material particular; or

(b) withholds any material information ;

shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20.

Supplemental

56

(1) The power to make regulations under section 50 of the Rent Act 1968 for the purposes of Part IV of that Act shall extend to this Part of this Act and the power to modify by such regulations the provisions of Schedules 6 and 7 to that Act shall extend to the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act.

(2) The power of the Lord Chancellor under section 106 of the Rent Act 1968 to make rules and give directions for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions specified in subsection (3) of that section shall extend to sections 49 and 54 of this Act.

Interpretation

57

In this Part of this Act—

" local authority " has the same meaning as in Part I of this Act;

" qualification certificate " and " qualifying conditions " have the meanings assigned to them by section 43(5) of this Act;

" registration area " means a registration area for the purposes of Part IV of the Rent Act 1968 ; and other expressions shall be construed as in the Rent Act 1968.

PART IV — Houses in multiple occupation

New definition of houses in multiple occupation

58

(1) Any statutory provision referring (in whatever terms) to a house which, or a part of which, is let in lodgings or which is occupied by members of more than one family shall have effect as if it referred to a house which is occupied by persons who do not form a single household.

(2) In this section " statutory provision " means any provision contained in an Act of Parliament or in any order or other instrument made under an Act of Parliament.

(3) In accordance with the preceding provisions of this section, the enactments mentioned in Part I of Schedule 8 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in that Part; and the Minister may by order make similar amendments in any local Act or Act confirming a provisional order which was passed before the commencement of this Act.

Orders applying management code

59

(1) Subsection (2) of section 12 of the Housing Act 1961 (which requires a local authority to serve notice of intention to make an order applying the management code to a house) shall cease to have effect.

(2) In subsection (4) of that section (right of appeal) for the words from " within " to " served " there shall be substituted the words " within twenty-one days from the service or such longer period as the local authority may in writing allow ".

(3) In subsection (5) of that section (improvements between service of the notice and making of the order) for the words from " at the time when " to " time of the making of the order " there shall be substituted the words " at the time of the making of the order as well as at the time the appeal was instituted ".

Means of escape from fire

60

(1) If it appears to a local authority—

(a) that a house which is occupied by persons who do not form a single household is not provided with such means of escape from fire as the local authority consider necessary; and

(b) that it would not be practicable to provide it with such means at reasonable expense ;

but that, if part of the house were not used for human habitation.—

(i) the means of escape from fire with which the house is provided would be adequate ; or

(ii) adequate means of escape from fire could be provided at reasonable expense;

the local authority may secure that that part is not used for human habitation and, in the case mentioned in paragraph (ii) of this subsection, serve a notice under section 16 of the Housing Act 1961 requiring the execution of such works as are in the opinion of the local authority required to provide such means of escape from fire as will be necessary if that part of the house is not used for human habitation.

(2) For the purpose of securing that a part of the house is not used for human habitation the local authority may, if after consultation with any owner or mortgagee they think fit to do so, accept an undertaking from him that that part will not be used for human habitation without the permission of the local authority.

(3) Any person who, knowing that an undertaking has been accepted under subsection (2) of this section, uses the part of the house to which the undertaking relates in contravention of the undertaking, or permits that part of the house to be so used, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20 and to a further fine of £5 for every day, or part of a day, on which he so uses it or permits it to be so used after conviction.

(4) If the local authority do not accept an undertaking under subsection (2) of this section with respect to a part of the house, or if, in a case where they have accepted such an undertaking, that part of the house is at any time used in contravention of the undertaking, the local authority may make a closing order with respect to that part of the house.

(5) A local authority who are not, under the Fire Services Act 1947, the fire authority for the area in which the house is situated, or who have, under section 12 of that Act, delegated all their functions in respect of that area to another fire authority, shall, before making a closing order under this section or accepting an undertaking under subsection (2) thereof, consult with the fire authority concerned.

(6) Part II of the Act of 1957 shall apply to a closing order made under this section as it applies to a closing order under section 18(1) of that Act, but the ground on which, under section 27(2) of that Act, the local authority are required to determine the order shall be that they are satisfied that the means of escape from fire with which the house is provided would be adequate (owing to a change of circumstances) even if the part of the house with respect to which the order was made were used for human habitation.

(7) Nothing in the Rent Act 1968 shall prevent possession being obtained of any part of a house which, in accordance with such an undertaking as is mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, cannot for the time being be used for human habitation.

Offences and penalties

61

(1) Any obligation to execute works in pursuance of a notice served under section 14, 15 or 16 of the Housing Act 1961 shall continue notwithstanding that the period specified in the notice (with any extension permitted by the authority) or the period specified in relation to an appeal by section 65(5) of the Housing Act 1964 has expired; and a person shall be guilty of an offence if he wilfully fails to comply with that obligation after being convicted under section 65 of the Housing Act 1964 of failing to comply with the notice or after being convicted under this section of failing to comply with the obligation.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

(3) Where an offence under this section committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(4) The preceding provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to the exercise by the local authority of their powers of carrying out the works under section 18 of the Housing Act 1961.

(5) Section 159 of the Act of 1957 (powers of entry) shall apply for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been an offence under this section but so much of that section as requires notice to be given of the intended entry shall not apply; and that purpose shall be deemed to be among those mentioned in section 68(1)(b) of the Housing Act 1964 (warrant to authorise entry).

(6) Sections 19(11)(a) and 20(1)(a) of the Housing Act 1961 (penalty on first conviction of an offence of failing to comply with a direction or notice against overcrowding) shall each have effect, with respect to offences committed after the commencement of this Act, as if for the words " twenty pounds " there were substituted the words " one hundred pounds ".

Directions to prevent or reduce overcrowding in houses in multiple occupation

62

(1) In section 19 of the Housing Act 1961 (directions to prevent or reduce overcrowding in houses in multiple occupation)—

(a) in subsection (1), for the words " the highest number of individuals " there shall be substituted the words " the highest number of individuals or households or both " and for the words " live in the house" the words " occupy the house " ; and

(b) for paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) there shall be substituted the words " not to permit the number of individuals or households occupying the house to increase to a number above the limit specified in the direction and, if it is for the time being above that number, not to permit it to increase further ".

(2) In subsection (3) of section 67 of the Housing Act 1964 (which allows a number specified in a notice under that section, or a number determined by reference to it, to be adopted in fixing a limit under section 19(1) of the Housing Act 1961) the words between " adopt that number " and " in fixing a limit " shall be omitted.

Control order followed by compulsory purchase order

63

(1) The following provisions of this section shall have effect where a local authority have made a control order (that is to say an order under section 73 of the Housing Act 1964) with respect to a house and within twenty-eight days of the making of the order the authority make a compulsory purchase order for the acquisition of the house under Part V of the Act of 1957.

(2) The local authority need not prepare a scheme under section 79 of the Housing Act 1964 or serve a copy of such a scheme in pursuance of that section until they are notified by the Minister of his decision to confirm or not to confirm the compulsory purchase order; and the time within which copies of the scheme are to be served under that section shall be—

(a) if the Minister's decision is not to confirm the compulsory purchase order, eight weeks from the date on which the Minister's decision is notified to the authority;

(b) if the Minister's decision is to confirm the compulsory purchase order, eight weeks from the time at which the compulsory purchase order becomes operative.

(3) Where the compulsory purchase order is confirmed by the Minister and the local authority—

(a) enter into a contract to purchase the house, or

(b) in pursuance of a notice served under section 11 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, either enter and take possession of the house or serve a notice under section 98 of the Act of 1957 authorising a person in occupation of the house or part of the house to continue in occupation,

the control order shall cease to have effect on the date when the contract is made or the notice under section 11 is served.

(4) Where a control order ceases to have effect by virtue of subsection (3) of this section the local authority shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be liable to pay to the dispossessed proprietor the balances which, since the coming into force of the control order, from time to time accrued to the local authority out of the net amount of the rent and other payments received by them while the control order was in force from persons occupying the house, after deducting—

(a) compensation payable by the local authority under section 78 and section 81 of the Housing Act 1964 ; and

(b) all expenditure, other than capital expenditure, incurred by the local authority in respect of the house while the control order was in force, together with the appropriate establishment charges.

(5) For the purpose of enabling the local authority to recover, under the following provisions of this section, capital expenditure incurred in carrying out works in the house in the period before the control order ceases to have effect, the local authority may, by a notice served on the dispossessed proprietor, specify those works as being works which, if the control order had not been in force, the local authority could have required some person to carry out under Part II of the Housing Act 1961, or under any other enactment relating to housing or public health, and which could not be postponed because they were urgently required for the sake of the safety, welfare or health of persons living in the house or other persons.

(6) Where a notice under the preceding subsection is served on the proprietor he may within twenty-one days of the service of the notice or such longer period as the local authority may in writing allow appeal to the county court; and on any such appeal the court may confirm, quash or vary the notice.

(7) Any expenditure reasonably incurred by the local authority in carrying out the works specified in a notice under subsection (5) of this section (or specified in such a notice as varied by the court) may be deducted by the local authority from the balances which they are, under subsection (4) of this section, liable to pay to the dispossessed proprietor; and so far as that expenditure exceeds those balances it may, if the house is purchased compulsorily, be deducted from the amount payable as compensation, and accordingly any interest payable on that amount shall be calculated after allowing for the deduction.

(8) A local authority shall give notice to the dispossessed proprietor of the balances which they propose to pay to him under subsection (4) of this section and he may, within twenty-one days of the service of the notice or such longer period as the local authority may in writing allow, appeal to the county court; and on any such appeal the county court, if of opinion that those balances are unduly low for any reason within the control of the local authority, having regard to the desirability of observing the standards of management contained in regulations made under section 13 of the Housing Act 1961, and to the other standards which the local authority ought to observe as to the number of persons living in the house and the rents which they ought to charge, the court shall direct that, for the purposes of the local authority's liability to the dispossessed proprietor under this section, the balances under subsection (4) thereof shall be deemed to be such greater sums as the court may direct, but those sums shall not exceed the amount which, in the opinion of the court, the dispossessed proprietor may have lost by the making of the control order.

(9) If different persons are dispossessed proprietors in relation to different parts of the house, sums payable under this section by the local authority shall be apportioned between them in the manner provided by section 78(6) of the Housing Act 1964.

(10) Any notice served on any person under subsection (5) or subsection (8) of this section shall inform him of his right of appeal under this section.

(11) Section 91 of the Housing Act 1964 (interpretation and construction of Part IV) shall apply as if this section were contained in Part IV of that Act.

Registers of houses in multiple occupation

64

(1) A scheme under section 22 of the Housing Act 1961 may be so made or amended as to contain provisions, either in lieu of or in addition to the provisions authorised by that section, for preventing, subject to subsection (3) of this section, multiple occupation of a house to an extent greater than that mentioned in that subsection unless the house is registered in pursuance of those provisions and the number of households or persons occupying it does not exceed the number so registered for that house ; and such provisions may prohibit persons from permitting others to take up residence in a house or part of a house but shall not prohibit any person from taking up or remaining in residence.

(2) In the following provisions of this section such provisions of a scheme as are authorised by subsection (1) of this section are referred to as control provisions.

(3) Control provisions shall not affect the continued occupation of a house by the number of households or persons occupying it at the time the provisions come into force and shall not affect any occupation of a house which is such that—

(a) the persons occupying the house form two households; or

(b) apart from one household (if any) the house is occupied by not more than four persons.

(4) Control provisions may enable the local authority—

(a) to refuse to register or to vary the registration of a house on the ground that the house is unsuitable and incapable of being made suitable for such occupation as would be permitted by virtue of the registration or variation;

(b) to refuse to register a house on the ground that the person having control of the house, or the person intended to be the person managing the house, is not a fit and proper person ; and

(c) to require, as a condition of registering or of varying the registration of a house, that such works are executed as will make the house suitable for such occupation as will be permitted by virtue of the registration or variation.

(5) Control provisions shall provide that, where the local authority refuse to register or to vary the registration of a house or require the execution of any works as a condition of doing so, they shall give the applicant a written statement of their reasons for doing so.

(6) Where a local authority notify a person who has applied for the registration or the variation of a registration of a house in pursuance of control provisions that they refuse to register the house or vary the registration in accordance with his application or that they require the execution of any works as a condition of doing so, he may, within twenty-one days of being so notified or such longer period as the local authority may in writing allow, appeal to the county court, and on such an appeal the county court may confirm, reverse or vary the decision of the authority ; and where the decision of the authority was a refusal to register or vary the registration of a house, the county court may direct them to register or vary the registration either in accordance with the application as made or in accordance with that application as varied in such manner as the county court may direct.

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