Housing Act 1964

PART I — Assistance for Housing Societies providing Housing Accommodation

The Housing Corporation

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• (1) There shall be an authority, to be called the Housing Corporation (hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as " the Corporation ") whose general duty it shall be to promote and assist the development of housing societies, to facilitate the proper exercise and performance of the functions of such societies, and to publicise, in the case of societies providing houses for their own members no less than in the case of those providing houses for letting, the aims and principles of such societies ; and, for the purpose of performing that general duty, the Corporation shall exercise and perform the functions assigned to them by this Part of this Act.

• (2) Directions of a general character as to the exercise and performance of the functions of the Corporation may be given by the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly; and whether or not any such directions have been given as aforesaid, directions of either a general or a particular character may be given—

• (a) where the directions concern the exercise or performance of those functions in England and Wales only, by the Minister ;

• (b) where the directions concern the exercise or performance of those functions in Scotland only, by the Secretary of State;

and the Corporation shall comply with any directions given under this subsection.

Any directions given under this subsection may be varied or revoked by subsequent directions thereunder given by the same persons or person.

• (3) It is hereby declared that the Corporation are not to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown, or as exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local, and that their property is not to be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.

• (4) A transaction between a person and the Corporation shall not be invalid by reason of any non-compliance by the Corporation with any direction given to the Corporation under subsection (2) of this section unless that person had actual notice of the direction; and section 29 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1959 (protection of persons deriving title to land under transactions requiring consent) shall apply in relation to the Corporation as it applies in relation to an authority to whom Part II of that Act applies.

• (5) References to undertakers in section 15 of the Local Government Superannuation Act 1953 (which enables local authorities to admit to their superannuation schemes employees of statutory undertakers) shall extend to the Corporation.

• (6) The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution and proceedings of the Corporation and other matters related to the Corporation and its members.

• (7) In this Part of this Act the expression " housing society " means a society—

• (a) which is registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 ; and

• (b) which does not trade for profit; and

• (c) which is established for the purpose of, or amongst whose objects or powers are included those of, constructing, improving or managing houses, being—

• (i) houses to be kept available for letting, or

• (ii) where the rules of the society restrict membership of the society to persons entitled or prospectively entitled (whether as tenants or otherwise) to occupy a house provided or managed by the society, houses for occupation by members of the society,

whether or not the purposes or objects of the society include any of the supplementary purposes or objects mentioned in subsection (8) of this section, so however that the expression shall not include a society which, in addition to the purposes or objects mentioned in paragraph (c) above, has any purposes or objects not mentioned in the said subsection (8).

• (8) The supplementary purposes or objects referred to in the last foregoing subsection are those—

• (a) of providing land or buildings for purposes connected with the requirements of the persons occupying the houses provided or managed by the society,

• (b) of encouraging the formation of other housing societies, and

• (c) of giving advice on the formation and running of such societies.

• (9) In the application of this section to Scotland, in subsection (4) for the reference to the Town and Country Planning Act 1959 there shall be substituted a reference to the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1959.

Power of Corporation to make loans to housing societies

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• (1) The Corporation shall have power to make loans to a housing society for the purpose of enabling the housing society to meet the whole or any part of any expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the housing society in carrying out its objects.

• (2) Any directions given to the Corporation under section 1(2) of this Act with respect to the terms of any such loan shall require the consent of the Treasury and, subject to any such directions, the terms on which any such loan is made shall be such as the Corporation may determine either generally or in any particular case, and may, in particular, include terms for preventing repayment of the loan or any part of it before a specified date without the consent of the Corporation.

• (3) The Corporation may, with the consent in writing of the Minister, give to any housing society (whether in connection with a scheme under section 5 of this Act or otherwise) directions with respect to the disposal of any land belonging to the society in which the Corporation have an interest as mortgagee under a mortgage entered into by the society; and where directions under this subsection are given with respect to any land belonging to a housing society, it shall be the duty of the society to comply with the directions so long as the Corporation continue to have such an interest in that land.

Any directions given under this subsection with the consent aforesaid may be varied or revoked by subsequent directions thereunder given with the like consent.

• (4) Where, in the case of a housing society the rules of which restrict membership of the society to persons entitled or prospectively entitled (whether as tenants or otherwise) to occupy a house provided or managed by the society, the Corporation propose to give directions to the society under subsection (3) of this section requiring it to transfer its interest in any land to the Corporation or any other person, the Minister shall not consent to the giving of the directions unless he is satisfied that arrangements have been made which, if the directions are given, will secure that the members of the society receive fair treatment in connection with the transfer.

• (5) The reference in subsection (1) of this section to expenditure incurred or to be incurred by a housing society in carrying out its objects includes a reference to expenditure incurred or to be incurred by it in acquiring land on which to construct houses or in acquiring houses to be managed by the society, whether after improvement by the society or in the condition in which they are acquired.

• (6) In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to the Minister there shall be substituted references to the Secretary of State.

Provision of land for housing societies

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• (1) The Corporation shall have power to sell, or, with the consent in writing of the Minister, to lease, to a housing society any land which the housing society requires for carrying out its objects and, if the Corporation sell the land, the purchase-money may, under the last foregoing section, be left outstanding as a loan to the housing society.

• (2) The Corporation may acquire land, whether by way of purchase, lease, exchange or gift, for the purpose of selling it or leasing it to housing societies under the foregoing subsection.

• (3) The Corporation may with the consent in writing of the Minister clear any land acquired by them under the last foregoing subsection and carry out any other work on the land to prepare it as a building site or estate, including the laying out and construction of streets or roads and open spaces and the provision of sewerage facilities and supplies of electricity, gas and water.

• (4) The powers conferred by the foregoing provisions of this section may be exercised as respects any land notwithstanding that the land is not immediately required for sale or lease to a housing society, and the Corporation shall, until the land is so sold or leased, have power to repair, maintain and insure any buildings or works for the time being thereon and generally to deal in the proper course of management with the land and any such buildings or works, and to charge for the tenancy or occupation thereof.

• (5) If, after the Corporation have acquired any land, it appears to the Corporation that there is no housing society, whether in existence or about to be formed, to which the land can suitably be sold or leased, and that the land is capable of being used to provide housing accommodation for letting, the Corporation may prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme for the Corporation themselves to undertake all the operations required for the provision of such housing accommodation on the land (including any operations which might have been carried out by a housing society in connection with the provision of the housing accommodation) and for the Corporation to retain the housing accommodation and keep it available for letting so long as the scheme has not been terminated in any manner provided for therein.

• (6) Before submitting to the Minister a scheme under subsection (5) of this section the Corporation shall send a copy of it to the local authority in whose area the land to which the scheme relates is situated.

• (7) Where a scheme under the said subsection (5) is submitted to the Minister by the Corporation, the Minister, on being satisfied of the lack of any housing society to which the land to which the scheme relates can suitably be transferred and that the requirements of the last foregoing subsection have been complied with, and after considering any representations which may be made to him by the local authority in whose area the land is situated, may, if he thinks fit, approve the scheme; and if he does so the Corporation shall have power to carry through the provisions of the scheme.

• (8) Any scheme approved by the Minister under this section may be varied from time to time in accordance with proposals in that behalf made by the Corporation and approved by the Minister.

• (9) The Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act 1920 shall not apply to a tenancy where the interest of the landlord belongs to the Corporation and (without prejudice to the foregoing provision) a person shall not be entitled to retain possession against the Corporation by virtue of the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Acts 1920 to 1939.

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

• (a) for the references to the Minister there shall be substituted references to the Secretary of State;

• (b) in subsection (2), for the reference to exchange there shall be substituted a reference to excambion.

Compulsory purchase by Corporation of land

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• (1) Where a housing society desires to acquire any land and has made an application to the local authority in whose area the land is situated, requesting them to acquire the land under Part V of the Act of 1957 for the purpose of selling it or leasing it to the society, then, if the authority have power to acquire the land under the said Part V and the Corporation are satisfied, after consultation with the authority, that the authority are unwilling to acquire the land for that purpose or that the footing on which they are willing to do so involves the sale or leasing of the land to the society subject to conditions which are unacceptable to the society, the Corporation may acquire the land compulsorily.

• (2) The power of the Corporation to acquire the land compulsorily shall be exercisable in any particular case on their being authorised to do so by the Minister, and in relation to the compulsory purchase the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 shall apply as if the Corporation were a local authority within the meaning of that Act, as if this Act had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act, and as if in Part I of Schedule 1 to that Act (procedure for authorising compulsory purchases) references to an owner of any land comprised in the compulsory purchase order included references to the local authority in whose area the land is situated.

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

• (a) in subsection (1), for the reference to the Act of 1957 there shall be substituted a reference to the Act of 1950, and for the words " the Corporation may acquire the land compulsorily " there shall be substituted the words " the Corporation may request the Scottish Special Housing Association to acquire the land compulsorily as provided in section 99(2) of this Act ";

• (b) subsection (2) shall not apply.

Schemes for Corporation to provide housing accommodation in place of housing society

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• (1) If, in the case of any housing society, it appears to the Corporation—

• (a) that the society is experiencing difficulty in providing housing accommodation on any land which it has acquired or in managing housing accommodation provided by it on any land, or is in any way failing to perform its functions as a housing society in relation to any land, and that accordingly it is undesirable for the land in question to remain in the hands of the society; and

• (b) that there is no other housing society, whether in existence or about to be formed, to which the society's interest in the land in question can suitably be transferred ; and

• (c) that the land is capable of being, or continuing to be, used to provide housing accommodation for letting,

the Corporation may prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme for the Corporation to acquire the society's interest in the land and to undertake all such operations as may be required for the provision or continued provision on the land of housing accommodation for letting (including any operations which might have been carried out by a housing society in connection with the provision of the housing accommodation) and for the Corporation to retain the accommodation and keep it available for letting so long as the scheme has not been terminated in any manner provided for therein.

• (2) Where a scheme under this section is submitted to the Minister by the Corporation, the Minister, on being satisfied of the undesirability of the land remaining in the hands of the society and of the lack of any housing society to which it can suitably be transferred, may, if he thinks fit, approve the scheme, and if he does so the Corporation shall have power to acquire for the purposes of the scheme the society's interest in the land and to carry through the provisions of the scheme.

• (3) Where the Corporation propose to give to a housing society directions under section 2(3) of this Act requiring the society to transfer to the Corporation the society's interest in any land, the Minister shall not consent to the giving of the directions unless he at the same time approves, or has previously approved, a scheme under this section with respect to that land.

• (4) Any scheme approved by the Minister under this section may be varied from time to time in accordance with proposals in that behalf made by the Corporation and approved by the Minister.

• (5) In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to the Minister there shall be substituted references to the Secretary of State.

Disposal of land not required by housing societies

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• (1) The Corporation may dispose of any land which is not required for the purposes for which it was acquired, so, however, that if—

• (a) the land was acquired compulsorily by the Corporation, or by a local authority who transferred the land to the Corporation, or

• (b) the land is not disposed of for the best consideration it commands,

the Corporation shall not dispose of the land without the consent in writing of the Minister.

• (2) The consent of the Minister shall not be required under paragraph (b) of the foregoing subsection to the disposal of land to be used as, or in connection with, a highway or a street not being a highway.

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

• (a) for the references to the Minister there shall be substituted references to the Secretary of State;

• (b) in subsection (2), the references to a highway shall include references to any public right of way.

Power of Corporation to provide advisory service

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The Corporation may provide an advisory service for the purpose of advising housing societies, housing associations which are not housing societies, and persons who are forming housing societies or are interested in the possibility of doing so, on legal, architectural and other technical matters, and may make charges for the service.

Building society advances to housing societies to which Corporation have made loans

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• (1) An advance to which this section applies is one made by a building society to a housing society on the security of any freehold or leasehold estate by means of a mortgage where—

• (a) immediately before the execution of that mortgage, the Corporation have an interest in the same freehold or leasehold estate under a mortgage entered into by the housing society; and

• (b) the security represented by the last-mentioned mortgage is, with the agreement of the Corporation, postponed to the building society's security under the first-mentioned mortgage.

• (2) The following advances, that is to say—

• (a) any advance to which this section applies, and

• (b) any advance which, in accordance with section 21(7) of the Building Societies Act 1962, a building society is treated as having made by reason of a transfer—

• (i) from one housing society to another, or

• (ii) from a housing society to the Corporation, or

• (iii) from the Corporation to a housing society, of the mortgagor's interest under a mortgage securing an advance made by that building society,

shall not constitute special advances as defined by section 21 of the Building Societies Act 1962 and shall not be brought into account under section 22(2)(b) of that Act (under which the amount of the special advances which a building society may make depends on the amount lent by it to bodies corporate and to persons borrowing more than five thousand pounds or such higher amount as may be prescribed).

• (3) Subject to this section a building society shall not in any financial year make advances to which this section applies of a total amount which exceeds fifteen per cent. of the total of the advances of all descriptions made by the building society in the last preceding financial year on the security of freehold or leasehold estate; and for the purpose of ascertaining that total the said section 21(7) of the Building Societies Act 1962 shall apply.

• (4) The Chief Registrar may if he thinks fit grant to a building society permission in writing to make advances to which this section applies in excess of the limit imposed by the last foregoing subsection, but subject to such other limit under that subsection as may be specified in the permission for that purpose; and this section shall have effect accordingly.

• (5) A building society shall have power to make an advance to which this section applies by means of a mortgage under which the same freehold or leasehold estate constitutes the security both for that advance and for advances made to the same housing society by one or more other persons by means of the same mortgage if, and only if, every other person making an advance by means of that mortgage is another building society and the mortgagees in the mortgage all covenant with each other not to transfer their interests as mortgagees to any person who is not a building society.

• (6) At any time not more than three years after the coming into force of this Part of this Act the board of directors of a building society may by memorandum in writing alter the rules of the building society so as to enable the building society to make advances to which this section applies by means of mortgages of the kind described in the last foregoing subsection.

The power of altering rules conferred on the directors of a building society by this subsection shall cease to have effect at the expiration of the period of three years beginning with the coming into force of this section, and any alteration of a building society's rules under this subsection shall cease to have effect on the first subsequent occasion (whether before or after the expiration of the said period of three years) on which an alteration of the rules of the building society made under section 17 of the Building Societies Act 1962 takes effect.

• (7) Where any alteration of the rules of a building society is effected under the last foregoing subsection, the building society shall send notice of the alteration to the Chief Registrar ; and section 123(1) of the Building Societies Act 1962 (regulations as to form of notices) shall apply in relation to any such notice as it applies to notices sent to the Chief Registrar under that Act.

• (8) If a building society does not comply with the requirements of subsection (3) of this section, the society shall be liable on conviction on indictment or on summary conviction to a fine which, on summary conviction, shall not exceed two hundred pounds; and every officer of the society who knowingly or wilfully authorises or permits the failure to comply shall be liable—

• (a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both, or

• (b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both.

• (9) If a building society fails to comply with subsection (7) of this section, the society, and every officer of the society who is in default, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds.

• (10) In this section " financial year " has the meaning given by section 128 of, and paragraph 11 of Schedule 8 to, the Building Societies Act 1962, but for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section if the year to which that subsection applies is shorter or longer than the last preceding financial year a corresponding reduction or increase shall be made in the figure of fifteen per cent. mentioned in that subsection; and if the year is the first year in which the building society has made any advances on the security of freehold or leasehold estate, no advances to housing societies shall be permitted under that subsection in that year.

• (11) In this section the expressions " building society ", " Chief Registrar " director " and " officer " have the meanings given by section 129 of the Building Societies Act 1962.

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

• (a) for the references to freehold or leasehold estate there shall be substituted references to an estate or interest - in land;

• (b) any reference to an advance on the security of freehold or leasehold estate, or to an advance by means of a mortgage, or other the like reference, shall be construed as a reference to an advance upon a heritable security.

Advances by Minister or Secretary of State to Corporation

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• (1) For the purpose of enabling the Corporation to exercise and perform their functions, the Minister and the Secretary of State respectively may, subject to the provisions of this section, make advances to the Corporation, and any such advances shall be repaid at such times and by such methods, and interest thereon shall be paid at such rates and at such times, as the Minister or the Secretary of State, as the case may be, may, with the approval of the Treasury, from time to time direct.

• (2) Advances under this section shall not together exceed fifty million pounds or such greater sum, not exceeding one hundred million pounds, as the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly may from time to time by order made by statutory instrument specify; but no such order shall be made unless a draft of the order has been approved by a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.

• (3) The Treasury may issue to the Minister or to the Secretary of State out of the Consolidated Fund such sums as are necessary to enable him to make advances under subsection (1) of this section.

• (4) For the purpose of providing the whole or part of any sums to be issued under the last foregoing subsection, or of providing for the replacement in whole or in part of any sum so issued, the Treasury may at any time, if they think fit, raise money in any manner in which they are authorised to raise money under the National Loans Act 1939, and any securities created and issued to raise money under this subsection shall be deemed for all purposes to have been created and issued under that Act.

• (5) Any sums received by the Minister or by the Secretary of State by way of repayment of or interest on advances under this section shall be paid into the Exchequer.

• (6) The sums paid into the Exchequer under the last foregoing subsection shall be issued out of the Consolidated Fund at such times as the Treasury may direct and shall be applied by the Treasury as follows, that is to say—

• (a) so much of those sums as represents principal shall be applied in redeeming or paying off debt of such description as the Treasury think fit; and

• (b) so much of those sums as represents interest shall be applied towards meeting such part of the annual charges for the national debt as represents interest.

Accounts, audit, annual report, etc.

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• (1) The Corporation shall keep proper accounts and proper records in relation to the accounts and shall prepare in respect of each financial year annual accounts in such form as the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct.

• (2) The accounts of the Corporation for each financial year shall be audited by a qualified accountant appointed for the purpose by the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly.

• (3) As soon as the annual accounts of the Corporation for any financial year have been audited, the Corporation shall send to the Minister and to the Secretary of State a copy of the accounts prepared by them for that year in accordance with this section, together with a copy of any report made by the auditor thereon.

• (4) The Minister and the Secretary of State shall each prepare in respect of each financial year, in such form and manner as the Treasury may direct, an account of the sums issued to him out of the Consolidated Fund and advanced to the Corporation under this Act, and of sums received by him from the Corporation and paid into the Exchequer in respect of the principal of and interest on sums so advanced.

• (5) On or before the 30th November in each year, the Minister and the Secretary of State shall each transmit to the Comptroller and Auditor General the accounts prepared by him under the last foregoing subsection in respect of the last foregoing financial year; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify the accounts prepared by the Minister and the Secretary of State respectively and lay before each House of Parliament copies of those accounts together with his report thereon.

• (6) The Corporation shall, as soon as possible after the end of each financial year, make to the Minister and to the Secretary of State a report on the exercise and performance by them of their functions during that year, and shall—

• (a) include in the report a copy of their audited accounts for that year, and

• (b) set out in the report any directions given to the Corporation by the Minister and the Secretary of State or either of them during that year ;

and the Minister and the Secretary of State shall lay a copy of every such report before each House of Parliament.

• (7) In this section " financial year" means the period of twelve months ending with the 31st March, and "qualified accountant" means a person who is a member, or a firm all of the partners wherein are members, of one or more of the following bodies, that is to say—

• (a) the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;

• (b) the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland;

• (c) the Association of Certified and Corporate Accountants ;

• (d) the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;

• (e) any other body of accountants established in the United Kingdom and for the time being recognised for the purposes of section 161(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1948 by the Board of Trade.

Scottish Special Housing Association may act as agents for Corporation in Scotland

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• (1) The Corporation may, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed between them and the Scottish Special Housing Association, authorise the Association to act in Scotland as the agents of the Corporation for the purpose of carrying out any of the functions vested in the Corporation under section 3, section 5, section 6 or section 7 of this Act.

• (2) Section 18(1) of the Act of 1962 (which confers power on the Secretary of State to make advances to the Scottish Special Housing Association for the provision of housing accommodation) shall have effect as if it conferred power on the Secretary of State to make advances under that subsection to the Association for the purpose of assisting them to act as the agents of the Corporation in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section.

Interpretation of Part I

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

• " the Corporation " means the Housing Corporation established under this Part of this Act;

• " functions " includes powers and duties ;

• " house " includes any part of a building which is occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling and, in relation to Scotland, has the meaning given by section 184(1) of the Act of 1950;

• " housing association " has the meaning given by section 189(1) of the Act of 1957 or, in relation to Scotland, by section 184(1) of the Act of 1950;

• " housing society " has the meaning given by section 1(7) of this Act;

• " land " includes any interest in or right over land;

• " 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.

• (2) In the case of land which is situated partly in the area of one local authority and partly in the area of another, references in this Part of this Act to the local authority in whose area the land is situated shall be construed as references to each of those local authorities.

PART II — Compulsory Improvement of Dwellings to Provide Standard Amenities

Improvement of dwellings: improvement areas

Declaration of improvement area

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• (1) If a local authority are satisfied that any area in their district contains dwellings lacking one or more of the standard amenities and that, of the dwellings in that area which are so lacking, at least one half—

• (a) are so constructed that it is practicable to improve them to the full standard, and

• (b) will, after they have been improved to the full standard, be in such condition as to be fit for human habitation, and will be likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain in that condition and available for use as dwellings for a period of not less than fifteen years,

the local authority may cause the area to be defined on a map and may pass a resolution declaring the area so defined to be an improvement area for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

• (2) As soon as may be after the passing of a resolution under this section the local authority shall publish in one or more local newspapers circulating in the locality where the improvement area is situated a notice—

• (a) stating that the area has been declared an improvement area, giving sufficient particulars to identify the limits of the area, and naming a place where a copy of the resolution and of the map defining the area may be seen at all reasonable hours, and

• (b) setting out the effect of the provisions of this Part of this Act regarding the compulsory improvement of dwellings in an improvement area.

• (3) It shall be the duty of every local authority to cause an inspection of their district to be made from time to time with a view to ascertaining whether there is any area in the district which ought to be declared to be an improvement area, and for that purpose it shall be the duty of each local authority, and of every officer of the local authority, to comply with such regulations and to keep such records as the Minister may prescribe.

• (4) After the declaration of an improvement area under this section it shall be the duty of the local authority to take such action under this Part of this Act as appears to them appropriate as respects the dwellings in the improvement area.

• (5) No account shall be taken under subsection (1) of this section of dwellings in any tenement block, and no improvement notice shall be served in respect of a dwelling in a tenement block under the following provisions of this Act relating to improvement areas.

• (6) This section shall apply to Scotland subject to the following modifications:—

• (a) in relation to the passing by a local authority of a resolution under subsection (1) of this section in respect of any area every dwelling in which is comprised in a tenement, that subsection shall have effect as if for the references to improvement to the full standard there were substituted references to improvement to the full or to the reduced standard;

• (b) subsection (3) shall have effect as if the words from " and for that purpose " to the end were omitted ;

• (c) subsection (5) shall not apply, but no preliminary notice or improvement notice shall be served under sections 14 to 18 of this Act in respect of a dwelling comprised in a tenement.

Preliminary notice of local authority's proposals for improvement of dwelling

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• (1) At any time after publication of a notice of the declaration of an improvement area as required by subsection (2) of the last foregoing section the local authority, if satisfied that a dwelling in the improvement area—

• (a) is for the time being occupied by a tenant, and

• (b) is without one or more of the standard amenities but is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard or, if not, is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the reduced standard, and

• (c) after being so improved will be in such condition as to be fit for human habitation, and will be likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain in that condition and available for use as a dwelling for a period of not less than fifteen years,

may serve a notice (in this Part of this Act referred to as " a preliminary notice") on the person having control of the dwelling—

• (i) specifying the works which in their opinion are required for the dwelling to be improved to the full standard' or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard, with an estimate of the cost of carrying out those works, and

• (ii) stating the date (being a date not less than twenty-one days after service of the preliminary notice) and time and place at which the future use of the dwelling, the local authority's proposals for the carrying out of the works, any alternative proposals, and the views and interests of the tenant and any other matters may be discussed.

• (2) The local authority shall, not less than twenty-one days before the date so stated in the preliminary notice, in addition to serving the notice on the person having control of the dwelling, serve a copy of the notice on the tenant and on every other person who, to the knowledge of the local authority, is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling ; and the person having control of the dwelling, and every owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling shall be entitled to be heard when the local authority's proposals are discussed in accordance with the notice.

Improvement notices

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• (1) After the service of a preliminary notice, the local authority shall take into consideration all representations made on or before the occasion when their proposals with respect to the dwelling are discussed in accordance with the preliminary notice and, in particular, any representations with respect to the nature of the works proposed by the local authority for improving the dwelling.

• (2) At any time after the occasion when the local authority's proposals are so discussed, but not more than two years (or such other period as may be prescribed) after the passing of the resolution declaring the area to be an improvement area, the local authority may, if satisfied that the dwelling still falls within paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of the last foregoing section, serve a notice (in this Part of this Act referred to as " an improvement notice ") on the person having control of the dwelling.

• (3) In addition to serving the notice on the person having control of the dwelling, the local authority shall at the same time serve a copy of the notice on the tenant of the dwelling and on every other person who is to the knowledge of the local authority an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling.

• (4) The improvement notice shall specify the works which in the opinion of the local authority are required to improve the dwelling to the full standard or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard.

• (5) The works specified in the improvement notice may be different from the works specified in the preliminary notice but shall not require the improvement of a dwelling to the full standard or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard if the preliminary notice provided for the improvement of the dwelling to the other of the two standards.

• (6) As soon as may be after service of an improvement notice under this section, it shall be registered in the register of local land charges by the proper officer of the local authority in the prescribed manner.

The power conferred by section 15(6) of the Land Charges Act 1925 to make rules for giving effect to the provisions of that section shall be exercisable for giving effect to the provisions of this subsection ; and in this subsection " prescribed " means prescribed by rules made in the exercise of that power.

• (7) Subsection (6) of this section shall not apply to Scotland, but as soon as practicable after service of an improvement notice under this section in Scotland the local authority shall cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a certificate in the prescribed form stating that the said notice has been served as aforesaid.

Immediate improvement notices

16

• (1) If when the improvement notice is served on the person having control of the dwelling the local authority have received from the person who is then the tenant occupying the dwelling his consent to the improvement of the dwelling to the standard provided in the preliminary notice, the local authority shall in the improvement notice require the person having control of the dwelling to carry out the works specified in the improvement notice within twelve months (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the date when the improvement notice becomes operative or such longer period as the local authority by permission given in writing may from time to time allow.

• (2) The tenant's consent must be in writing, signed by him, and shall be irrevocable.

• (3) An improvement notice to which this section applies is referred to in this Part of this Act as " an immediate improvement notice ".

Suspended improvement notices

17

• (1) If the last foregoing section does not apply, the improvement notice shall be in the form prescribed by this section and is referred to in this Part of this Act as " a suspended improvement notice ".

• (2) A suspended improvement notice shall refer to the provisions of this section, and shall indicate that in the circumstances specified in this and the next following section the local authority propose to exercise the powers conferred on them by this Part of this Act with a view to requiring the person having control of the dwelling to carry out the works specified in the suspended improvement notice.

• (3) If at any time after the service of a suspended improvement notice on the person having control of the dwelling—

• (a) the local authority are satisfied that there has been a change in the occupation of the dwelling since the suspended improvement notice was so served, or

• (b) the local authority have received from a person who at that time is occupying the dwelling as a tenant his consent to the improvement of the dwelling to the standard required in the suspended improvement notice,

and the local authority are satisfied that the dwelling—

• (i) is still without one or more of the standard amenities but is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the standard required in the suspended improvement notice, and

• (ii) after being so improved will be in such condition as to be fit for human habitation, and will be likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain in that condition and available for use as a dwelling for a period of not less than fifteen years,

the local authority shall serve on the person having control of the dwelling a copy of the suspended improvement notice together with a further notice (in this Part of this Act referred to as a " final improvement notice ") requiring the person having control of the dwelling to carry out the works specified in the suspended improvement notice within twelve months (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the date when the final improvement notice becomes operative or within such longer period as the local authority may by permission given in writing from time to time allow.

The tenant's consent given for the purposes of this subsection must be in writing, signed by him, and shall be irrevocable.

• (4) In addition to serving the final improvement notice on the person having control of the dwelling, the local authority shall at the same time serve a copy of the suspended improvement notice and of the final improvement notice on the occupier of the dwelling and on every other person who is to the knowledge of the local authority an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling.

• (5) If at any time after the service of a suspended improvement notice on the person having control of a dwelling, but before the service of a final improvement notice in respect of that dwelling, and before the expiration of a period of five years from the declaration of the area as an improvement area, there is a change in the occupation of the dwelling it shall be the duty of the person who is for the time being the person having control of the dwelling to inform the local authority by notice in writing of that fact and of the time when it occurred.

• (6) If the local authority have not received a notice required under the last foregoing subsection within six weeks from the time when the change took place, any person who was within the meaning of this Act a person having control of the dwelling when the change took place and who knowingly failed to comply with that requirement shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds; and notwithstanding anything in section 104 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 or section 23 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1954 (time limit for proceedings) proceedings for the offence may be brought at any time within six months from the date when evidence of the offence came to the knowledge of the local authority or within three years from the commission of the offence, whichever is the earlier.

A certificate stating the date when evidence of an offence under this section came to the knowledge of the local authority, and purporting to be signed by an officer of the local authority, shall be sufficient evidence of the facts stated in the certificate in any proceedings for an offence under this section.

• (7) Where an offence punishable under the last foregoing subsection which has been 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.

• (8) The local authority shall withdraw a suspended improvement notice—

• (a) if at any time before service of the final improvement notice they consider that the dwelling no longer falls within paragraph (i) or paragraph (ii) of subsection (3) of this section, or

• (b) if they are satisfied that a tenant for the time being occupying the dwelling has become an owner of the dwelling, or that on the coming to an end of the tenancy of a person who was occupying the dwelling, a member of his family who was residing with him immediately before the end of the tenancy has become an owner of the dwelling.

The withdrawal shall be effected by serving notice of the withdrawal on the person having control of the dwelling, and the local authority shall serve a copy of the notice on the occupier of the dwelling (if different from the person having control of the dwelling) and on every other person who to the knowledge of the local authority is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling.

• (9) For the purposes of this section there is a change in the occupation of a dwelling when the person who was occupying the dwelling when the suspended improvement notice was served on the person having control of the dwelling ceases to occupy the dwelling, except that there is no change in the occupation of a dwelling occupied by a tenant if, on his ceasing to occupy the dwelling, it is occupied by a member of his family who was residing with him immediately before he ceased to occupy the dwelling.

• (10) As soon as practicable after service of a withdrawal notice under subsection (8) of this section in Scotland the local authority shall cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a certificate in the prescribed form stating that the said notice has been served as aforesaid.

Suspended improvement notices: effect after 5 years

18

• (1) No obligation to serve a final improvement notice shall arise under the last foregoing section after the date when the period of five years from the declaration of the area as an improvement area expires, but in the period of six months (or such other period as may be prescribed) from that date the local authority may, subject to this section, proceed under that section to serve a final improvement notice irrespective of whether or not either of the conditions set out in paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of that section is fulfilled; and if, when that further period beginning from the said date expires, there is any suspended improvement notice in connection with which no final improvement notice has been served, that suspended improvement notice shall cease to have effect.

• (2) If neither of those conditions is fulfilled, the local authority shall afford to the person, if any, who is occupying the dwelling as a tenant a reasonable opportunity of making an application in writing to the local authority before the time when they serve the final improvement notice with a request to the local authority to provide the tenant with suitable alternative accommodation: and if the tenant duly makes the application and the local authority proceed to serve a final improvement notice, it shall be the duty of the local authority to offer, or arrange for some other authority or person to offer, suitable alternative accommodation to the tenant, so as to afford to the tenant a reasonable opportunity of taking up that alternative accommodation.

• (3) Within six weeks of service of a copy of the final improvement notice on the tenant in accordance with subsection (4) of the last foregoing section, the tenant may appeal to the county court on the ground that the local authority have not complied with their obligations under the last foregoing subsection and on the appeal the court shall, if satisfied that the local authority have not complied with those obligations, order that the final improvement notice shall not become operative unless, within twelve months (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the hearing of the appeal, the local authority satisfy the court that they have complied with those obligations.

If the local authority have not so satisfied the court, they shall at the end of that period from the hearing of the appeal withdraw the improvement notice and the withdrawal shall be effected by serving notice of the withdrawal on the person having control of the dwelling, and the local authority shall serve a copy of the notice on the occupier of the dwelling and on every person who, to the knowledge of the local authority, is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling.

• (4) If an appeal is brought under the last foregoing subsection it shall be the duty of the local authority, when served with notice of the appeal, to inform the person having control of the dwelling, and every other person who, to the knowledge of the local authority, is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling, of the bringing of the appeal and to draw their attention to the provisions of the last foregoing subsection and the effect which it may have on the improvement notice.

• (5) As soon as practicable after service of a withdrawal notice under subsection (3) of this section in Scotland the local authority shall cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a certificate in the prescribed form stating that the said notice has been served as aforesaid.

Improvement of dwellings outside improvement areas

Dwellings outside improvement areas

19

• (1) A tenant occupying a dwelling which is not in an improvement area and is not in a tenement block, and which is without one or more of the standard amenities, may make representations in writing to the local authority with a view to the exercise by the local authority of their powers under this section.

• (2) The local authority shall notify the person having control of the dwelling of any representations so made.

• (3) If on taking the representations into consideration the local authority are satisfied—

• (a) that the person making representations with a view to the exercise by the local authority of their powers under this section is a tenant who is occupying the dwelling, and

• (b) that the dwelling is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard or, if not, is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the reduced standard, and

• (c) that, having regard to all the circumstances, the dwelling ought to be improved to the full standard or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard, and that it is unlikely that it will be so improved unless the local authority exercise their powers under this section, and

• (d) that the dwelling after being so improved will be in such condition as to be fit for human habitation, and will be likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain in that condition and available for use as a dwelling for a period of not less than fifteen years,

the local authority may serve a preliminary notice (that is to say a notice containing the particulars to be contained in a preliminary notice under paragraphs (i) and (ii) of section 14(1) of this Act) on the person having control of the dwelling, and shall serve a copy of any preliminary notice so served on the tenant and on every other person who is to the knowledge of the local authority an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling; and the person having control of the dwelling, and every owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling, shall be entitled to be heard when the local authority's proposals are discussed in accordance with the notice.

If the local authority decide not to serve a preliminary notice under this subsection they shall notify the tenant of the dwelling of their decision and, if the tenant so requests, shall give him a written statement setting out their reasons for making their decision.

• (4) After the service of a preliminary notice, the local authority shall take into consideration all representations made on or before the occasion when their proposals with respect to the dwelling are discussed in accordance with the preliminary notice and, in particular, any representations with respect to the nature of the works proposed by the local authority for improving the dwelling ; and at any time after the occasion when the local authority's proposals are so discussed, but not more than two years (or such other period as may be prescribed) after the date when the representations in writing made under subsection (1) of this section were received by them, the local authority may, if satisfied that the dwelling still falls within paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of subsection (3) of this section, serve a notice (in this Part of this Act referred to as " an immediate improvement notice") on the person having control of the dwelling.

• (5) The immediate improvement notice shall require the person having control of the dwelling to carry out the works specified in the improvement notice within twelve months (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the date when the improvement notice becomes operative or such longer period as the local authority by permission given in writing may from time to time allow, and—

• (a) the notice shall specify the works which in the opinion of the local authority are required to improve the dwelling to the full standard or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard,

• (b) the works specified in the notice may be different from the works specified in the preliminary notice, and the notice may require the improvement of the dwelling to the full standard or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard notwithstanding that the preliminary notice provided for the improvement of the dwelling to the other of the two standards, and

• (c) if the works are to a lower standard than full improvement, the improvement notice may, at the discretion of the local authority, specify a period shorter than twelve months.

• (6) In addition to serving the immediate improvement notice on the person having control of the dwelling, the local authority shall at the same time serve a copy of the notice on the tenant of the dwelling and on every other person who is to the knowledge of the local authority an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling.

• (7) The power of serving a preliminary notice under this section, and of taking any further steps authorised under this Part of this Act, may be exercised by the local authority notwithstanding that the tenant who made representations under this section quits the dwelling and notwithstanding that after the tenant has made those representations the local authority pass a resolution declaring an area which comprises the dwelling to be an improvement area.

• (8) As soon as may be after service of an immediate improvement notice under this section, it shall be registered in the register of local land charges by the proper officer of the local authority in the prescribed manner.

The power conferred by section 15(6) of the Land Charges Act 1925 to make rules for giving effect to the provisions of that section shall be exercisable for giving effect to the provisions of this subsection; and in this subsection " prescribed " means prescribed by rules made in the exercise of that power.

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

• (a) in subsection (1), the words " and is not in a tenement block " shall be omitted ;

• (b) subsection (8) shall not apply, but as soon as practicable after service of an immediate improvement notice under this section the local authority shall cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a certificate in the prescribed form stating that such notice has been served as aforesaid.

Tenement blocks in England and Wales

Tenement blocks in England and Wales

20

• (1) If as respects a tenement block in England and Wales, whether in an improvement area or not, the local authority are satisfied—

• (a) that all or any of the dwellings in the tenement block are without one or more of the standard amenities, and

• (b) that those dwellings are capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard or, if not, to the reduced standard, and

• (c) that those dwellings after being so improved will be in such condition as to be fit for human habitation and will be likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain in that condition and available for use as living accommodation for a period of not less than fifteen years,

they may at any time serve a notice (in this Part of this Act referred to as " a preliminary notice ") on the person having control of the tenement block—

• (i) specifying the works which in the opinion of the local authority are required so as to improve the dwellings in the tenement block to the full standard or, so far as in the opinion of the local authority the dwellings are not capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard, to the reduced standard, with an estimate of the cost of carrying out those works, and

• (ii) stating the date (being a date not less than twenty-one days after service of the notice) and time and place at which the local authority's proposals for the carrying out of the works, any alternative proposals, and the views and interests of the tenants and any other matters may be discussed.

• (2) The local authority shall, not less than twenty-one days before the date so stated in the preliminary notice, in addition to serving the notice on the person having control of the tenement block, serve a copy of the notice on the occupier of each of the dwellings in the tenement block and on every other person who, to the knowledge of the local authority, is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the premises; and the person having control of the premises and every owner, lessee or mortgagee of the premises shall be entitled to be heard when the local authority's proposals are discussed in accordance with the notice.

• (3) Where in the opinion of the local authority any two or more dwellings in the tenement block, although not capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard so as to include in each a bathroom containing a fixed bath or shower, can be provided for the exclusive use of the occupants of the dwellings with a number of such bathrooms which is not less than half the number of those dwellings, the works specified in the notice may include works for the provision of such bathrooms to that number for the exclusive use of the occupants of those dwellings.

• (4) It shall be the duty of every local authority to cause an inspection of their district to be made with a view to ascertaining whether there are any premises in their district which ought to be dealt with under this section, and for that purpose it shall be the duty of each local authority, and of every officer of the local authority, to comply with such regulations and to keep such records as the Minister may prescribe.

Immediate improvement notices as respects tenement blocks

21

• (1) After the service of a preliminary notice under the last foregoing section, the local authority shall take into consideration all representations made on or before the occasion when their proposals with respect to the tenement block are discussed in accordance with the preliminary notice and, in particular, any representations with respect to the nature of the works proposed by the local authority for improving the tenement block.

• (2) At any time after the occasion when the local authority's proposals are so discussed, but not more than two years (or such other period as may be prescribed) after the service of the preliminary notice on the person having control of the tenement block, the local authority may, if satisfied that the premises still fall within paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of the last foregoing section, serve a notice (in this Part of this Act referred to as " an immediate improvement notice ") on the person having control of the tenement block requiring that person to carry out the works specified in the notice within twelve months (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the date when the notice becomes operative or within such longer period as the local authority may by permission given in writing from time to time allow.

• (3) In addition to serving the notice on the person having control of the tenement block, the local authority shall at the same time serve a copy of the notice on the person occupying each dwelling in the tenement block and on every other person who is to the knowledge of the local authority an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the tenement block.

• (4) The immediate improvement notice shall specify the works which in the opinion of the local authority are required to improve the dwellings in the tenement block to the full standard or, so far as in the opinion of the local authority the dwellings are not capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard, for improvement to the standard permitted under subsection (3) of the last foregoing section or to the reduced standard.

• (5) The works specified in the immediate improvement notice may be different from the works specified in the preliminary notice but shall not require the improvement of any dwelling to the full standard unless the preliminary notice provided for the improvement of that dwelling to the full standard.

• (6) As soon as may be after service of an immediate improvement notice under this section, it shall be registered in the register of local land charges by the proper officer of the local authority in the prescribed manner.

The power conferred by section 15(6) of the Land Charges Act 1925 to make rules giving effect to the provisions of that section shall be exercisable for giving effect to the provisions of this subsection; and in this subsection " prescribed" means prescribed by rules made in the exercise of that power.

Tenements in improvement areas in Scotland

Immediate improvement notices in respect of dwellings in tenements in improvement areas in Scotland

22

• (1) At any time within two years (or such other period as may be prescribed) after the passing by a local authority in Scotland of a resolution declaring an area in their district to be an improvement area such authority may, if they are satisfied that any of the dwellings comprised in a tenement in that area—

• (a) is without one or more of the standard amenities but is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard or, if not, is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the reduced standard, and

• (b) after being so improved will be in such condition as to be fit for human habitation, and will be likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain in that condition and available for use as a dwelling for a period of not less than fifteen years,

serve a notice (in this Part of this Act referred to as " an immediate improvement notice") on the person having control of the dwelling.

• (2) In addition to serving the immediate improvement notice on the person having control of the dwelling, the local authority shall at the same time serve a copy of the notice on every other person who to the knowledge of the authority is an owner of the dwelling and on the tenant (if any) of the dwelling.

• (3) The immediate improvement notice shall specify the works which in the opinion of the local authority are required to improve the dwelling to the full standard or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard and the period, being twelve months (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the date when the immediate improvement notice becomes operative or such longer period as the local authority by permission given in writing may from time to time allow, within which the works are to be carried out.

• (4) If at any time after the service of an immediate improvement notice under this section the local authority consider that the dwelling no longer falls within paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, they shall withdraw the said notice.

The withdrawal shall be effected by serving notice of the withdrawal on the person having control of the dwelling, and the local authority shall at the same time serve a copy of the notice on every other person who to the knowledge of the authority is an owner of the dwelling and on the tenant (if any) of the dwelling.

• (5) As soon as practicable after service of an immediate improvement notice or a withdrawal notice under this section the local authority shall cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a certificate in the prescribed form stating that such notice has been served as aforesaid.

Local authorities may acquire dwellings, etc., in tenements in improvement areas in Scotland

23

• (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, at any time after the passing by a local authority in Scotland of a resolution declaring an area in their district to be an improvement area such authority may, if they are satisfied that any of the dwellings comprised in a tenement in that area falls within paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) of section 22(1) of this Act, and whether or not they have served an immediate improvement notice in respect of the dwelling under the said section 22, acquire—

• (a) the dwelling, if in the opinion of the authority it is unlikely that it will be improved to the full or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard unless it is acquired by them;

• (b) any other part of the tenement in which the dwelling is comprised, if—

• (i) the authority in satisfying themselves that the dwelling falls within the said paragraph (a) have formed the opinion that it is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard only if the said part is used or made available, wholly or partly, for the purposes of such improvement, and

• (ii) in the opinion of the authority it is unlikely that the said part will be used or made available as aforesaid unless it is acquired by them.

In this subsection the references to a part of a tenement include references to any yard, garden, outhouses, pertinents or rights pertaining to any estate or interest in the tenement or any part thereof or usually enjoyed along with that estate or interest.

• (2) The provisions of sections 63 to 65 of the Act of 1950 (which relate to the acquisition by a local authority of land for the purposes of Part V of that Act and to the powers of a local authority in dealing with land so acquired) shall apply in relation to the acquisition of land under the foregoing subsection and to land acquired under that subsection as if such acquisition were for the purposes of the said Part V:

Provided that a compulsory purchase order shall not be made by a local authority by virtue of section 64 of the Act of 1950 as applied by this subsection after the expiry of two years (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the passing by the authority of the resolution declaring the area in which the land proposed to be acquired is situated to be an improvement area.

• (3) This section shall be included among the enactments to which section 22 of the Scottish Act of 1957 (which provides a special procedure for completion of compulsory acquisition of land under certain enactments) applies; and accordingly subsection (1) of that section shall have effect as if after the words " Housing (Scotland) Act 1962 " there were inserted the words " or section 23 of the Housing Act 1964 ".

• (4) Where a local authority acquire a dwelling under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, they shall execute, or secure the execution of, such works on that dwelling as are necessary to improve the dwelling to the full or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard; and a local authority shall secure that, so far as is necessary, any subjects acquired by them under paragraph (b) of the said subsection are used or made available for the improvement of the dwelling in connection with the improvement of which they were acquired.

• (5) The power conferred on a local authority by section 131(1) of the Act of 1950 to pay certain allowances to persons displaced in consequence of the exercise of certain powers shall include power to pay allowances to any person displaced from a house or building which, or a part of which, has been acquired by a local authority under this section ; and accordingly in the said section 131(1) after paragraph (e) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

, or (f) which, or a part of which, has been acquired by the local authority under section 23 of the Housing Act 1964

.

Acceptance of undertakings

Acceptance of undertakings to carry out works

24

• (1) The local authority may at any time before an improvement notice has been served under this Part of this Act in respect of a dwelling which is without one or more of the standard amenities accept from the person having control of the dwelling, or from any other person having an estate or interest in the dwelling, an undertaking in writing to improve the dwelling to the full standard or, if in the opinion of the local authority it is not capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard, to the reduced standard.

• (2) The undertaking shall specify the works agreed to be carried out, and the period within which they are to be carried out.

• (3) If the local authority have accepted an undertaking under this section as respects a dwelling they shall not serve an improvement notice under this Part of this Act as respects that dwelling—

• (a) unless any of the works specified in that undertaking are not carried out within the period so specified, or within such longer period as the local authority may by permission in writing have allowed, or

• (b) unless the local authority are satisfied that, owing to a change of circumstances since the undertaking was accepted by them, the undertaking is unlikely to be fulfilled.

• (4) An improvement notice as respects a dwelling in relation to which the local authority have accepted an undertaking under this section may, notwithstanding the limitation in section 15(2), section 19(4), section 21(2) or section 22(1) of this Act, be served at any time within two years (or such other period as may be prescribed) from the end of the period specified in the undertaking or, if the local authority have allowed a longer period, from the end of that longer period.

• (5) Before accepting an undertaking under this section, the local authority shall satisfy themselves that the person giving the undertaking has a right to carry out the works specified in the undertaking as against all other persons interested in the dwelling, except so far as, under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of section 39 of this Act, he may be enabled to carry out those works without the requisite consent; and if the dwelling is for the time being occupied by a tenant there must be incorporated in the undertaking the tenant's written consent, signed by him, to the carrying out of the works specified in the undertaking.

• (6) The local authority shall discharge an undertaking if at any time they consider that the dwelling no longer falls within paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of section 14(1) of this Act (or the corresponding provision of section 19 of this Act), and may discharge an undertaking under this section in any other case.

The discharge of the undertaking shall be effected by serving notice of the discharge on the person who gave the undertaking, and the local authority shall serve a copy of the notice on the occupier of the dwelling (if different from that person) and on every other person who, to the knowledge of the local authority is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling.

• (7) This section shall apply in relation to a tenement block in England and Wales as it applies in relation to a dwelling but as if the reference in subsection (6) of this section to section 19 of this Act included a reference to section 20 of this Act, and subject to any other necessary modifications.

Acceptance of undertakings to carry out works on dwellings in certain tenements in Scotland

25

• (1) Where an immediate improvement notice has been served under section 22 of this Act in respect of any dwelling comprised in a tenement in Scotland, the person having control of the dwelling or any person on whom a copy of the said notice has been served under subsection (2) of the said section may give to the local authority, within a period of twenty-one days from the date of service of the notice or such longer period therefrom as the authority may, either during or after the expiry of the twenty-one days, determine to be appropriate, an undertaking in writing that he will within such period as may be specified in the undertaking carry out such works for the improvement of the dwelling as may be so specified, and if an undertaking is given as aforesaid the authority shall as soon as may be either—

• (a) accept the undertaking and make an order (in this Part of this Act referred to as a " suspension order") suspending the notice and any other immediate improvement notice which in the opinion of the authority ought to be suspended in consequence of their acceptance of the undertaking ; or

• (b) reject the undertaking and serve on the person who gave the undertaking notice that they have done so.

• (2) A local authority shall not accept an undertaking given under this section if—

• (a) the undertaking proposes improvement of the dwelling to the reduced standard and, in the opinion of the local authority, the dwelling is capable of improvement at reasonable expense to the full standard, or

• (b) the fulfilment of the undertaking will render necessary the rehousing of any of the occupants of dwellings in the tenement, unless the local authority are satisfied that suitable alternative accommodation is available or can be provided for any occupant who will require to be rehoused.

• (3) Before accepting an undertaking under this section, the local authority shall satisfy themselves that the person giving the undertaking has a right to carry out the works specified in the undertaking as against all other persons interested in the dwelling except so far as, under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of section 39 of this Act, he may be enabled to carry out those works without the requisite consent.

• (4) Where a local authority have accepted an undertaking under this section, then if within the period specified in the undertaking, or such longer period as the local authority may by permission in writing have allowed, and before all the works so specified are carried out, the local authority are satisfied that, owing to a change of circumstances since the undertaking was accepted by them, the undertaking is unlikely to be fulfilled, they shall revoke the relevant suspension order made by them under subsection (1)(a) of this section.

• (5) If at any time after accepting an undertaking under this section, the local authority consider that the dwelling no longer falls within paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 22(1) of this Act, they shall discharge the undertaking and withdraw the immediate improvement notice in connection with which the undertaking was given; and they may discharge an undertaking under this section in any other case and in that case shall withdraw the immediate improvement notice in connection with which the undertaking was given.

The discharge of the undertaking and withdrawal of the related immediate improvement notice shall be effected by serving notice of the discharge and withdrawal on the person who gave the undertaking and on the person having control of the dwelling, and the local authority shall at the same time serve a copy of the last-mentioned notice on every other person who to the knowledge of the authority is an owner of the dwelling and on the tenant (if any) of the dwelling.

• (6) As soon as practicable after service of a notice under the last foregoing subsection the local authority shall cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a certificate in the prescribed form stating that the said notice has been served as aforesaid.

General provisions as to improvement notices and undertakings

General provisions as to improvement notices

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• (1) Any improvement notice shall, if no appeal is brought against the improvement notice under the next following section, become operative on the expiration of six weeks from the date of the service of the improvement notice on the person having control of the dwelling or other premises; and any improvement notice against which an appeal is so brought shall, if and so far as it is confirmed by the county court, or on appeal from the county court, become operative on the final determination of the appeal.

• (2) For the purposes of the foregoing subsection the withdrawal of an appeal shall be deemed to be the final determination thereof, having the like effect as a decision confirming the improvement notice or decision appealed against.

• (3) An improvement notice shall, subject to the right of appeal conferred by the next following section, be final and conclusive as to any matters which could be raised on any such appeal.

• (4) Without prejudice to the provisions of this Part of this Act making it the duty of a local authority to withdraw an improvement notice in specified circumstances, the local authority may, if they think fit, at any time withdraw any improvement notice, including a final improvement notice served in connection with a suspended improvement notice.

The withdrawal shall be effected by serving notice of the withdrawal on the person having control of the dwelling or other premises, and the local authority shall serve a copy of the notice on the occupier of the dwelling (if different from the person having control of the dwelling) and on every person who, to the knowledge of the local authority, is an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling or other premises.

If the improvement notice relates to a tenement block a copy of the notice shall be served on the occupier of every dwelling in the tenement block.

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

• (a) the words " or other premises ", wherever they occur, shall be omitted;

• (b) in subsection (1), for the words from " and any " to the end there shall be substituted the words " and any improvement notice against which an appeal is so brought shall—

• (i) if and so far as it is confirmed by the sheriff, become operative on the final determination of the appeal;

• (ii) if, in the case of an immediate improvement notice served under section 22 of this Act, it is suspended by the sheriff under paragraph (a)(ii) of section 27(10) of this Act, it shall become operative on the suspension ceasing to have effect in terms of the said paragraph " ;

• (c) any period after the service of an immediate improvement notice under section 22 of this Act and while an undertaking given under section 25 of this Act is under consideration, and any period while a suspension order under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of the said section 25 is in force, shall be left out of account in reckoning, in relation to the said immediate improvement notice, the period of six weeks referred to in subsection (1) of this section ;

• (d) in subsection (2), the words " or decision" shall be omitted;

• (e) in subsection (4), the words from " If the improvement notice " to the end shall be omitted ;

• (f) as soon as practicable after service of a withdrawal notice under this section the local authority shall cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a certificate in the prescribed form stating that the said notice has been served as aforesaid.

Appeal against improvement notice

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• (1) Within six weeks from the service on the person having control of the premises of an improvement notice, any such person or any other person having an estate or interest in the premises, other than a person whose only estate or interest is as a tenant occupying the premises, may appeal to the county court against the improvement notice.

• (2) The grounds of the appeal may be all or any of the following, that is—

• (a) that it is not practicable to comply with the requirements of the improvement notice at reasonable expense, regard being had to the estimated cost of the works and the value which it is estimated that the dwelling or other premises will have when the works are completed;

• (b) that the local authority have refused unreasonably to approve the execution of alternative works, or that the works specified in the notice are otherwise unreasonable in character or extent;

• (c) that the dwelling, or any of the dwellings in the premises, is not, or is no longer, without one or more of the standard amenities, or that the dwelling or other premises after being improved would not be in such condition as to be fit for human habitation, and likely, subject to normal maintenance, to remain in that condition and available for use as living accommodation for a period of not less than fifteen years ;

• (d) that some person other than the appellant will as the holder of an estate or interest in the dwelling or other premises, derive a benefit from the execution of the works and that that person ought to pay the whole or part of the cost of the execution of the works;

• (e) that the improvement notice is invalid on the ground that any requirement of this Act has not been complied with or on the ground of some informality, defect or error in or in connection with the improvement notice.

• (3) In so far as an appeal under this section is based on the ground that the improvement notice is invalid, the court shall confirm the improvement notice unless satisfied that the interests of the appellant have been substantially prejudiced by the facts relied on by him.

• (4) No appeal shall be brought against a final improvement notice on any ground which is a ground on which an appeal was brought, or might have been brought, against the suspended improvement notice to which the final improvement notice relates except so far as that ground depends on an alteration in the dwelling or the building of which the dwelling forms part, or on some other change in circumstances, which has taken place since the service of the suspended improvement notice.

• (5) On any appeal under this section the court may, subject to subsection (7) of this section, make such order either confirming or quashing or varying the improvement notice as the court thinks fit but not, in the case of an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice, so as to extend the period within which the works are to be carried out.

• (6) On any appeal under this section the court may, if the court thinks fit, accept from an appellant or any other party to the proceedings an undertaking to carry out the works specified in the improvement notice, or any such works as might have been so specified if the court exercised its jurisdiction to vary the improvement notice ; and any undertaking accepted by the court shall have the same effect as if it had been given to and accepted by the local authority under this Part of this Act, and had not been given to the court.

• (7) An improvement notice shall not be varied on an appeal under this section—

• (a) so as to require the carrying out of works to improve a dwelling to the full standard if the works specified in the improvement notice appealed against were works to improve the dwelling to the reduced standard, or

• (b) so as to require the carrying out of works to improve a dwelling to the reduced standard if the works specified in the improvement notice appealed against were works to improve the dwelling to the full standard.

• (8) Where the grounds on which an appeal under this section is brought include the grounds specified in subsection (2)(d) of this section, the court may on the hearing of the appeal make such order as it thinks fit with respect to the payment to be made by that other person to the appellant or, where the works are carried out by the local authority, to the local authority.

• (9) If an improvement notice is quashed by the county court, or on appeal from the county court, the court taking the decision may, if it thinks fit, and subject to compliance by the local authority with such terms and conditions as the court thinks fit to impose, extend the time within which, under section 15(2), section 19(4) or section 21(2) of this Act, as the case may be, the local authority may serve a further improvement notice in respect of the dwelling.

• (10) This section shall apply to Scotland subject to the following modifications:—

• (a) the persons who may appeal under subsection (1) against an immediate improvement notice served under section 22 of this Act in respect of any dwelling shall include a tenant occupying that dwelling, and subsections (2) to (9) shall not apply in relation to an appeal by such a tenant, but—

• (i) such a tenant may appeal only on the ground that the carrying out of the works specified in the improvement notice will cause unreasonable hardship to him or to any member of his family residing with him, regard being had to the age, health and any infirmity of the tenant or any such member;

• (ii) on such an appeal the sheriff may either confirm or suspend the improvement notice as he thinks fit, and any such suspension shall cease to have effect when there is a change in the occupation of the dwelling;

• (iii) for the purposes of sub-paragraph (ii) of this paragraph there is a change in the occupation of a dwelling when the tenant who was occupying the dwelling when the improvement notice was suspended by the sheriff ceases to occupy the dwelling, except that there is no change in the occupation of the dwelling if, on the tenant ceasing to occupy the dwelling, it is occupied by a member of his family who was residing with him immediately before he ceased to occupy the dwelling;

• (b) any period after the service of an immediate improvement notice under section 22 of this Act and while an undertaking given under section 25 of this Act is under consideration, and any period while a suspension order under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of the said section 25 is in force, shall be left out of account in reckoning, in relation to the said immediate improvement notice, the period of six weeks referred to in subsection (1) of this section;

• (c) in subsection (2), the words " or other premises ", where ever they occur, and the words " or any of the dwellings in the premises " shall be omitted ;

• (d) where in pursuance of subsection (6) of this section the sheriff accepts an undertaking to carry out works on a dwelling comprised in a tenement, being a dwelling in respect of which an immediate improvement notice has been served under section 22 of this Act, he shall direct the local authority to make an order (in this Part of this Act referred to as a " suspension order ") suspending the immediate improvement notice appealed against and any other immediate improvement notice which in the opinion of the sheriff ought to be suspended in consequence of his acceptance of the undertaking, and for the purposes of this Part of this Act a suspension order made by a local authority in compliance with a direction of the sheriff given under this paragraph shall be deemed to have been made by them under section 25(1)(a) of this Act;

• (e) in subsection (9), the words " or on appeal from the county court" shall be omitted, and for the words " section 21(2) " there shall be substituted the words " section 22(1) ";

• (f) where an improvement notice is quashed on an appeal under this section the local authority shall as soon as practicable thereafter cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines a notice stating that the said notice has been quashed as aforesaid.

Enforcement of improvement notices and undertakings to carry out works

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• (1) If the works to be carried out in compliance with an immediate improvement notice or a final improvement notice (as read with the suspended improvement notice), or an undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act, have not been carried out in whole or in part within the period specified in the notice or undertaking, or within any further period which the local authority have by permission given in writing allowed, the local authority may themselves do the work which has not been completed.

• (2) If before the expiration of the period mentioned in the foregoing subsection the person who is for the time being the person having control of the dwelling or who is bound by the undertaking notifies the local authority in writing that he does not intend or is unable to do the work in question, the local authority may, if they think fit, do the work before the expiration of the said period.

• (3) Not less than twenty-one days before beginning to do the work, the local authority shall serve notice of their intention on the occupier of the dwelling, on the person having control of the dwelling and on every other person who is to the knowledge of the local authority an owner, lessee or mortgagee of the dwelling.

• (4) This section shall apply in relation to an improvement notice or undertaking relating to a tenement block as if for the reference in subsection (3) to the occupier of the dwelling there were substituted a reference to the occupier of each dwelling in the tenement block and as if in subsections (2) and (3) references to the dwelling in any other context were references to the tenement block.

• (5) Subsection (4) of this section shall not apply to Scotland.

Recovery of expenses incurred by local authority in England and Wales on default under improvement notice

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• (1) Any expenses reasonably incurred by the local authority under the last foregoing section in carrying out works (not being works to which that section applied as being works as respects which an undertaking was accepted under this Part of this Act) may, except so far as they are by any direction of the court on appeal recoverable under an order of the court, be recovered by them by action from the person on whom the improvement notice was served:

Provided that if the person served with an improvement notice proves that he—

• (a) was only properly served with the notice as being an agent or trustee for some other person, and

• (b) does not have, and since the date of the service on him of the demand has not had, in his hands on behalf of that other person sufficient money to discharge the whole demand of the authority,