Housing Act 1974

PART I — The Housing Corporation: Extended Functions

Continuation of Housing Corporation with extended functions

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• (1) There shall continue to be an authority called the Housing Corporation and the provisions of Schedule 1 to the 1964 Act (constitution, proceedings and other matters relating to the Corporation) as amended by Schedule 1 to this Act shall continue to apply in relation to the Corporation.

• (2) Without prejudice to any specific function conferred on the Corporation by or under the following provisions of this Act or any other enactment, the Corporation shall have the following general functions, namely,—

• (a) to promote and assist the development of registered housing associations and of unregistered self-build societies;

• (b) to facilitate the proper exercise and performance of the functions, and to publicise the aims and principles, of registered housing associations and unregistered self-build societies;

• (c) to establish and maintain a register of housing associations, to exercise supervision and control over registered housing associations and, to such extent as the Secretary of State may require, to act as his agent with respect to the consideration of applications for and the payment of grants to registered housing associations; and

• (d) to undertake, to such extent as the Corporation consider necessary, the provision (by construction, acquisition, conversion, improvement or otherwise) of dwellings for letting or for sale and of hostels and the management of dwellings or hostels provided by the Corporation.

• (3) The Corporation shall exercise their general functions subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act and Parts II and III thereof.

Control by Corporation of dispositions of land by housing associations

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• (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section,—

• (a) a registered housing association may not sell, lease, mortgage, charge or otherwise dispose of any land, and

• (b) an unregistered housing association may not sell, lease, mortgage, charge or otherwise dispose of any grant-aided land, as defined in Schedule 2 to this Act,

except with the consent of the Corporation.

• (2) Subsection (1) above shall not apply to a disposition by a housing association which is a registered charity if—

• (a) the disposition is one which, by virtue of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of section 29 of the Charities Act 1960 (certain disposals not to take place without an order of the court or of the Charity Commissioners), cannot be made without such an order as is mentioned in that section; or

• (b) the disposition is of land which is not grant-aided land, as defined in Schedule 2 to this Act, and is one for which the sanction of an order under the said section 29 is not required by virtue of subsection (3) thereof (certain dispositions excluded from the requirements of that section).

• (3) The Charity Commissioners shall consult the Corporation before making any order under section 29 of the Charities Act 1960 permitting a disposition which, apart from subsection (2) above, would be a disposition requiring the consent of the Corporation.

• (4) Subsection (1) above shall not apply to the grant of a lease for a term ending within the period of 7 years and 3 months beginning on the date of the grant unless—

• (a) there is conferred on the lessee (whether by the lease or otherwise) an option for renewal for a term which, together with the original term, would expire outside that period; or

• (b) the lease is granted wholly or partly in consideration of a fine.

• (5) Without prejudice to the generality of the expression " dispose" in subsection (1) above, in subsection (4) above the expression " lease " includes an agreement for a lease and a licence to occupy and the expressions " grant" and " term " shall be construed accordingly.

• (6) Any reference in this section to the consent of the Corporation is a reference to an order under the seal of the Corporation giving their consent.

Acquisition of land

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• (1) The Corporation may acquire land, whether by way of purchase, lease, exchange or gift—

• (a) for the purpose of selling or leasing it to a registered housing association or an unregistered self-build society; or

• (b) for the purpose of their general functions under section 1(2)(d) above.

• (2) For the purpose of the purchase of land in Scotland by agreement by the Corporation, the Lands Clauses Acts (except so much thereof as relates to the acquisition of land otherwise than by agreement, and the provisions relating to access to the special Act, and except sections 120 to 125 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845), and section 6 and sections 70 to 78 of the Railways Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845 (as originally enacted and not as amended by section 15 of the Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1923) are hereby incorporated with this section, and, in construing those Acts for the purposes of this section, this section shall be deemed to be the special Act and the Corporation shall be deemed to be the promoters of the undertaking or company, as the case may require.

• (3) The Corporation may be authorised by the Secretary of State to purchase land compulsorily for any purpose for which they could acquire it by agreement under subsection (1) above.

• (4) The Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 or, as the case may be, the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947 shall apply in relation to a compulsory purchase of land by the Corporation under subsection (3) above as if the Corporation were a local authority and as if that subsection were contained in an Act in force immediately before the commencement of that Act.

• (5) In Scotland the Corporation (without prejudice to their own power to acquire land compulsorily) may request the Scottish Special Housing Association to acquire land compulsorily on their behalf for any purpose for which the Corporation may purchase land compulsorily as provided in section 175(2) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1966.

• (6) The powers of acquisition conferred by this section may be exercised as respects any land notwithstanding that it is not immediately required for selling or leasing as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above or for the purpose of any of the Corporation's general functions under section 1(2)(d) above.

Provision of dwellings or hostels and clearance, management and development of land

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• (1) The Corporation may undertake the provision or improvement of dwellings or hostels on any land belonging to them

• (2) The Corporation may clear any land belonging to them 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.

• (3) The Corporation shall have power to repair, maintain and insure any buildings or works for the time being on any land belonging to them and generally to deal in the proper course of management with any such land and any such buildings or works and to charge for the tenancy or occupation thereof.

• (4) Without prejudice to subsection (3) above, the Corporation may carry out such operations on, and do any other such things in relation to, land belonging to them as appear to them to be conducive to facilitating the provision or improvement of dwellings or hostels on the land, whether by the Corporation themselves, by a registered housing association or by an unregistered self-build society.

• (5) In the exercise of their powers under subsection (4) above, the Corporation may carry out any development ancillary to or in connection with the provision of dwellings or hostels, including development which makes provision for any building or land intended for use for commercial, recreational or other non-domestic purposes.

Disposal of land

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• (1) The Corporation may not dispose of any land except in accordance with the provisions of this section.

• (2) The Corporation may dispose of any land in respect of which they have not exercised their powers under subsection (1) of section 4 above and on which they have not carried out any such development as is mentioned in subsection (5) of that section to—

• (a) a registered housing association ; or

• (b) an unregistered self-build society ; or

• (c) a subsidiary of the Corporation; or

• (d) any other body in which the Corporation hold an interest.

• (3) The Corporation may dispose of any land on which dwellings or hostels have been provided or improved in exercise of their powers under section 4 above to—

• (a) a registered housing association, or

• (b) the council of a county, district or London borough, the Greater London Council or the Common Council of the City of London, or

• (c) a housing authority as defined in section 78(1) of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972, or

• (d) the Commission for the New Towns or a development corporation within the meaning of the New Towns Act 1965, or

• (e) a subsidiary of the Corporation,

and may sell or lease individual dwellings to persons for their own occupation.

• (4) The Corporation may dispose of any building or land intended for use for commercial, recreational or other non-domestic purposes in respect of which development has been carried out by virtue of section 4(5) above ; but no such building or land may be disposed of for less than the best consideration it commands except with the consent in writing of the Secretary of State.

• (5) The Corporation may dispose of any land which is not required for the purposes for which it was acquired but, subject to subsection (6) below, if the land—

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

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

the Corporation shall not dispose of the land except with the consent in writing of the Secretary of State.

• (6) The consent of the Secretary of State shall not be required under subsection (5) above to the disposal of land for less than the best consideration it commands if the land is to be used as, or in connection with, a highway or a street not being a highway.

• (7) For the purposes of subsection (5) above " local authority ", in relation to England and Wales, means—

• (a) the council of a district or, in the case of an acquisition before 1st April 1974, the council of a county borough or county district; and

• (b) the council of a London borough or the Common Council of the City of London.

Acquisition of securities and control of subsidiaries

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• (1) The Corporation may with the consent of the Secretary of State subscribe for or acquire any securities of a body corporate and promote or participate in the promotion of any such body.

• (2) The Corporation shall exercise their control over any subsidiary of theirs so as to secure that the subsidiary does not—

• (a) engage in any activity which the Corporation are not empowered to carry on ;

• (b) engage in any activity in a manner in which the Corporation themselves could not engage, by reason of any direction given to the Corporation under section 1(2) of the 1964 Act;

• (c) except with the consent of the Secretary of State, borrow money from any person other than the Corporation; or

• (d) except with the consent of the Secretary of State, raise money by the issue of shares or stock to any person other than the Corporation.

• (3) In this section " securities " means shares, stock, debentures, debenture stock and any securities of a like nature.

Borrowing powers

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• (1) Subject to subsection (9) below, the borrowing powers of the Corporation shall be those, and only those, conferred by subsections (2) to (4) below; and the powers conferred by those subsections are subject to subsection (5) below.

• (2) The Corporation may borrow from the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State may lend to the Corporation, by way of temporary loan or otherwise, such sums in sterling as the Corporation may require.

• (3) Without prejudice to subsection (2) above, the Corporation may, with the consent of the Secretary of State or in accordance with a general authorisation given by him, borrow temporarily by overdraft or otherwise such sums in sterling as the Corporation may require.

• (4) The Corporation may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, borrow on such terms as the Secretary of State may from time to time specify,—

• (a) from such persons as he may so specify, sums in a currency other than sterling ; and

• (b) from the European Investment Bank or the Commission of the European Communities, sums in any currency.

• (5) The aggregate amount outstanding by way of the principal of—

• (a) advances made to the Corporation under section 9 of the 1964 Act before the day appointed for the coming into operation of this Part of this Act,

• (b) advances made to housing associations, before the day appointed for the coming into force of section 34 of this Act, under section 7 of the Housing Act 1961, section 11 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1962 and section 23 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968 (being advances in respect of which the functions of the Secretary of State are by the said section 34 transferred to the Corporation),

• (c) any money borrowed by the Corporation under this section, and

• (d) any money borrowed by a subsidiary of the Corporation, otherwise than from the Corporation,

shall not exceed £400 million or such greater sum not exceeding £750 million as the Secretary of State may by order specify, and no such order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by the Commons House of Parliament.

• (6) Any loan made by the Secretary of State in pursuance of this section shall be repaid to him at such times and by such methods, and interest on the loan shall be paid to him at such rates and at such times, as he may from time to time determine.

• (7) References in the preceding provisions of this section to the Secretary of State are references to him acting with the approval of the Treasury.

• (8) The Treasury may issue out of the National Loans Fund to the Secretary of State such sums as are necessary to enable him to make loans in pursuance of subsection (2) above and any sums received by the Secretary of State in pursuance of subsection (6) above shall be paid into that Fund.

• (9) References in this section to borrowing do not include any borrowing from a subsidiary of the Corporation.

Treasury guarantees

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• (1) The Treasury may guarantee, in such manner and on such conditions as they think fit, the repayment of the principal of and the payment of interest on any sums which the Corporation borrow from a person other than the Secretary of State.

• (2) Immediately after a guarantee is given under this section the Treasury shall lay a statement of the guarantee before each House of Parliament; and where any sum is issued for fulfilling the guarantee so given the Treasury shall, as soon as possible after the end of each financial year (beginning with that in which the sum is issued and ending with that in which all liability in respect of the principal of the sum and in respect of interest thereon is finally discharged), lay before each House of Parliament a statement relating to that sum.

• (3) Any sums required by the Treasury for fulfilling a guarantee under this section shall be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

• (4) If any sums are issued in fulfilment of a guarantee given under this section, the Corporation shall make to the Treasury, at such times and in such manner as the Treasury may from time to time direct, payments of such amounts as the Treasury so direct in or towards repayment of the sums so issued and payments of interest, at such rate as the Treasury so direct, on what is outstanding for the time being in respect of sums so issued.

• (5) Any sums received by the Treasury in pursuance of subsection (4) above shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Lending powers

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• (1) The Corporation may, by way of temporary loan or otherwise, lend to—

• (a) a registered housing association,

• (b) an unregistered self-build society,

• (c) a subsidiary of the Corporation, and

• (d) any other body in which the Corporation hold an interest,

for the purpose of enabling any of those bodies to meet the whole or any part of any expenditure incurred or to be incurred by it in carrying out its objects.

• (2) The Corporation may, by way of temporary loan or otherwise, lend to an individual for the purpose of assisting him to acquire from the Corporation or from any of the bodies specified in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (1) above a legal estate or interest in a dwelling which he intends to occupy.

• (3) Any directions given to the Corporation under section 1(2) of the 1964 Act with respect to the terms of any loan made under subsection (1) or subsection (2) above shall require the consent of the Treasury and, subject to any such directions and to subsection (4) below, the terms on which any such loan is made shall be such as the Corporation may determine, either generally or in any particular case.

• (4) The terms of any loan made under subsection (1) above may, and the terms of any loan made under subsection (2) above may not, include terms for preventing repayment of the loan or any part of it before a specified date without the consent of the Corporation.

• (5) In any case where—

• (a) the Corporation make a loan to an unregistered self-build society under subsection (1)(b) above, and

• (b) under a mortgage or heritable security entered into by the society to secure the loan the Corporation have an interest as mortgagee or, as the case may be, as creditor in any land belonging to the society,

the Corporation may, with the written consent of the Secretary of State, give to the society directions with respect to the disposal of that land, and 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; and any directions given under this subsection with such consent may be varied or revoked by subsequent directions given thereunder with the like consent.

• (6) Where the Corporation propose, under subsection (5) above, to give directions to an unregistered self-build society requiring it to transfer its interest in any land to the Corporation or any other person, the Secretary of State 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.

Miscellaneous financial provisions

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• (1) With the consent of the Secretary of State, given with the approval of the Treasury, the Corporation may guarantee the repayment of the principal of and the payment of interest on any sums borrowed (otherwise than from the Corporation)—

• (a) by registered housing associations,

• (b) by unregistered self-build societies, and

• (c) by other bodies in which the Corporation hold an interest,

and in any case where the Corporation give a guarantee under this subsection they may impose such terms and conditions as they think fit.

• (2) The aggregate amount outstanding in respect of—

• (a) loans for which the Corporation have given a guarantee under subsection (1) above, and

• (b) any payments which have been made by the Corporation in meeting any obligation arising by virtue of such a guarantee and have not been repaid to the Corporation,

shall not exceed £100 million.

• (3) The Corporation may turn their resources to account so far as they are not required for the exercise of the Corporation's functions.

• (4) Any excess of the revenues of the Corporation for any accounting year over the total sums properly chargeable to revenue account for that year shall be applied by the Corporation in such manner as the Secretary of State may, after consultation with the Corporation and with the approval of the Treasury, direct; and such a direction may require the whole or part of the excess to be paid to the Secretary of State.

• (5) The Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, give to the Corporation directions as to any matter relating to the establishment or management of reserves or the carrying of sums to the credit of any reserves or the application of any reserves for the purposes of the Corporation's functions.

• (6) The Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury and after consultation with the Corporation, direct the Corporation to pay to the Secretary of State the whole or part of any sums for the time being standing to the credit of any reserves of the Corporation or being of a capital nature and not required for the exercise of the Corporation's functions.

Exclusion of certain disposals of land from tax on chargeable gains

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After section 342 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 there shall be inserted the following section:—

(342A) (1) In any case where— (a) the Housing Corporation dispose of any land to a registered housing association, or (b) a registered housing association disposes of any land to another registered housing association, or (c) in pursuance of a direction of the Housing Corporation given under Part II of the Housing Act 1974 requiring it to do so, a registered housing association disposes of any of its property, other than land, to another registered housing association, or (d) a registered housing association or an unregistered self-build society disposes of any land to the Housing Corporation, both parties to the disposal shall be treated for the purposes of corporation tax in respect of chargeable gains or, as the case may require, capital gains tax as if the land or property disposed of were acquired from the Housing Corporation, registered housing association or unregistered self-build society making the disposal for a consideration of such an amount as would secure that on the disposal neither a gain nor a loss accrued to the Corporation or, as the case may be, that association or society. (2) In this section ' registered housing association ' and ' unregistered self-build society' have the same meanings as in Part I of the Housing Act 1974

.

Interpretation of Part I

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In this Part of this Act—

• " heritable security " means a heritable security within the meaning of section 9(8)(a) of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970;

• " highway ", in relation to Scotland, includes a public right of way;

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

• " self-build society " means a housing association whose object is to provide, for sale to, or occupation by, its members, dwellings built or improved principally with the use of its members' own labour and " unregistered self-build society " means a self-build society which is not a registered housing association ;

• " subsidiary " has the same meaning as in the Companies Act 1948; and

• " the 1964 Act " means the Housing Act 1964.

PART II — Registration of Housing Associations

The register of housing associations

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• (1) There shall be a register of housing associations which shall be established and maintained by the Corporation and in which the Corporation may register any housing association which—

• (a) is a registered charity and not an exempt charity ; or

• (b) is a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 (in this Part of this Act referred to as "the 1965 Act") and fulfils the conditions in subsection (2) below.

• (2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) above are that the housing association does not trade for profit and is established for the purpose of, or has among its objects or powers those of, providing, constructing, improving or managing—

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

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

• (c) hostels,

and that, if the association has any additional purposes or objects, it has none which are not mentioned in subsection (3) below.

• (3) The additional purposes or objects referred to in subsection (2) above are those—

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

• (b) of providing amenities or services for the benefit of those persons, either exclusively or together with other persons;

• (c) of encouraging and giving advice on the formation of other housing associations which would be eligible for registration by the Corporation ; and

• (d) of providing services for, and giving advice on the running of, registered housing associations.

• (4) The Corporation shall, after consultation with the committee established under section 14 below, establish criteria which should be satisfied by a housing association seeking registration, and may from time to time, after such consultation, vary those criteria.

• (5) In deciding whether to register a housing association, the Corporation shall have regard—

• (a) to any advice given to them by the committee established under section 14 below, and

• (b) to the question whether the association satisfies the criteria established in accordance with subsection (4) above.

• (6) For all purposes other than rectification of the register, a body shall be conclusively presumed to be a housing association falling within subsection (1) above at any time when it is or was on the register of housing associations.

• (7) The register of housing associations shall be open to inspection at the head office of the Corporation at all reasonable times.

The Housing Associations Registration Advisory Committee

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• (1) There shall be a committee which shall be called the Housing Associations Registration Advisory Committee and shall have the function of advising the Corporation—

• (a) generally on the exercise of the Corporation's powers with respect to the registration of housing associations ; and

• (b) when consulted in accordance with subsection (4) of section 13 above, on the establishment and variation of the criteria referred to in that subsection; and

• (c) on the question whether any particular housing association whose application for registration is referred to the Committee by the Corporation should be registered.

• (2) The Committee shall consist of a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State and such number of other members so appointed as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine; and every member shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of his appointment.

• (3) The Committee shall consist of persons whom the Secretary of State considers to be qualified to advise the Corporation on the matters referred to in subsection (1) above.

• (4) The Secretary of State may, out of money provided by Parliament, pay to all or any of the members of the Committee such salaries or other remuneration as he may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.

• (5) The Corporation may pay,—

• (a) to all or any of the members of the Committee, such travelling and other expenses, and

• (b) to persons attending their meetings at the request of the Committee, such travelling and other allowances (including compensation for loss of remunerative time),

as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.

Removal of bodies from the register

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• (1) Where a body has been registered in the register of housing associations, that body shall not be removed from the register except by the Corporation in accordance with the provisions of this section.

• (2) If it appears to the Corporation that any body which is registered—

• (a) is no longer a housing association falling within paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 13(1) above, or

• (b) has ceased to exist or does not operate,

the Corporation shall, on giving not less than 14 days' notice to that body, remove it from the register; and in a case where paragraph (b) above applies, any such notice shall be deemed to be given to a body if it is served at the address last known to the Corporation to be the principal place of business of that body.

• (3) A body which is aggrieved by a decision of the Corporation to remove it from the register of housing associations may appeal against the decision to the High Court or, as the case may be, the Court of Session.

• (4) If an appeal is brought under subsection (3) above and is not withdrawn the Corporation shall not remove the body concerned from the register of housing associations until the appeal has been finally determined.

• (5) No sum shall be paid in respect of a grant under section 29, section 32 or section 33 of this Act to a body which has been removed under this section from the register of housing associations.

• (6) Where, at the time of its removal under this section from the register of housing associations, a body owns any land, section 2 of this Act shall continue to apply to that land after the removal as if the body concerned continued to be a registered housing association.

Notifications to and by other bodies

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• (1) As soon as may be after registering a housing association or removing a body from the register the Corporation shall give notice of the registration or removal—

• (a) if the association or body is a registered charity and not an exempt charity, to the Charity Commissioners; and

• (b) if the association or body is a society registered under the 1965 Act, to the appropriate registrar.

• (2) Where notice is given to the Charity Commissioners or to the appropriate registrar as mentioned in subsection (1) above, the Commissioners or the registrar, as the case may be, shall record the registration or removal from the register by the Corporation.

• (3) As soon as may be after an appeal is brought under section 15(3) above, the Corporation shall give notice of the appeal,—

• (a) if the body appealing is a registered charity and not an exempt charity, to the Charity Commissioners; and

• (b) if the body appealing is a society registered under the 1965 Act, to the appropriate registrar.

Certain loans and grants limited to registered housing associations

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• (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below, on and after 1st April 1975 or such later date as the Secretary of State may by order specify for the purposes of this subsection—

• (a) no such loan as is specified in sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to this Act shall be made to a housing association unless, at the time the loan is made, the association is a registered housing association; and

• (b) the powers of a local authority, including a county council, under paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (3) of section 119 of the Housing Act 1957 or under paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2) of section 152 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1966 (to make grants and loans to, and to guarantee payments in respect of money borrowed by, housing associations) shall not be exercisable unless, at the time the grant or loan is made or, as the case may be, the guarantee is given, the housing association is a registered housing association.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3) below, the power of the Secretary of State to make grants under section 93 of the Finance Act 1965 (grants to housing associations for affording relief from tax) shall not be exercisable on a claim made by a housing association under that section in respect of a period beginning on or after 6th April 1975 or such later date as the Secretary of State may by order specify for the purposes of this subsection unless, throughout that period, the housing association is a registered housing association.

• (3) Subsections (1) and (2) above shall not apply in relation to a housing association if—

• (a) it is for the time being specified in an order made by the Secretary of State under section 80 of the Housing Finance Act 1972 (power to apply to certain housing associations provisions of that Act relating to local authorities); or

• (b) before the operative date, the association has made an application for registration to the Corporation and the application has not yet been disposed of by the Corporation.

• (4) Nothing in subsection (1)(b) above shall prevent a local authority, including a county council, from making loans under section 119(3)(a) of the Housing Act 1957 or section 152(2)(a) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1966 to an unregistered housing association for the assistance of the association—

• (a) in connection with any works required to be carried out in pursuance of, or the acquisition of any estate or interest in a dwelling or other building for the purposes of, any arrangements under section 121 of the said Act of 1957 or under section 155 of the said Act of 1966 which, before the operative date, have been approved by the Secretary of State ; or

• (b) in connection with the provision of dwellings which are relevant dwellings, within the meaning of section 73 of the Housing Finance Act 1972 (dwellings taken into account for the purposes of special residual subsidy); or

• (c) in connection with the provision of works which are relevant works, approved for subsidy, within the meaning of section 53 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972 (works taken into account for the purposes of special residual subsidy); or

• (d) in connection with a building scheme, within the meaning of section 75 of the Housing Finance Act 1972, which, before the operative date, has been approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of that section ; or

• (e) in connection with a building scheme or improvement scheme, within the meaning of sections 55 and 57 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972, which before the operative date has been approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of those sections.

Special rules applicable to tenancies of registered and certain other housing associations

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• (1) On and after the operative date, the reference in subsection (5) of section 5 of the Rent Act 1968 or in subsection (4) of section 5 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971 to a housing association shall be construed as not extending to an unregistered housing association unless—

• (a) the association is for the time being specified in an order made by the Secretary of State under section 80 of the Housing Finance Act 1972 ; or

• (b) the association is a society registered under the 1965 Act and its rules restrict membership to persons who are tenants or prospective tenants of the association and preclude the granting or assignment of tenancies to persons other than members ; or

• (c) the association has made an application for registration to the Corporation before the operative date and the application has not been disposed of by the Corporation.

• (2) If at any time, by virtue of subsection (1) above, a tenancy ceases to be one to which Part VIII of the Housing Finance Act 1972 applies, or sections 60 to 66 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972 apply, and becomes a protected tenancy for the purposes of the Rent Act 1968, or of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971, that tenancy shall be a regulated tenancy and the housing association which is the landlord under that tenancy shall give notice in writing to the tenant, in such form as may be prescribed, informing him that his tenancy is no longer excluded from protection under the Rent Act 1968 or the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971.

• (3) If, without reasonable excuse, a housing association fails to give notice to a tenant under subsection (2) above within the period of 21 days beginning on the day on which his tenancy becomes a protected tenancy, the association shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

• (4) Where an offence under subsection (3) above 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 or secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

• (5) In this section " prescribed" means prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.

• (6) The provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for supplementing this section, and Part I of that Schedule shall come into force on the passing of this Act.

Inquiries into affairs of registered 1965 Act associations

19

• (1) The Corporation may appoint a person (who may or may not be a member of the Corporation's staff) to conduct an inquiry into the affairs of any registered 1965 Act association.

• (2) For the purposes of an inquiry under subsection (1) above, the person appointed to conduct the inquiry may, by notice in writing served on the association concerned or on any person who is or has been an officer or member of the association, require the association or that person to produce to the person appointed to conduct the inquiry such books, accounts and other documents relating to the association's business, and to furnish to him such other information relating to that business, as he considers necessary for the purposes of the inquiry.

• (3) Any association or other person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with the requirements of a notice under subsection (2) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400.

• (4) For the purposes of an inquiry under subsection (1) above the Corporation may require the accounts and balance sheet of the association concerned, or such of them as the Corporation may specify, to be audited by an auditor appointed by the Corporation being a person who,—

• (a) under section 7(1) of the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968, is a qualified auditor for the purposes of that Act, or

• (b) under section 7(2) of that Act, is a qualified auditor in relation to the particular association whose accounts are required to be audited under this subsection.

• (5) Any person appointed to conduct an inquiry under subsection (1) above and any person appointed to make an audit under subsection (4) above shall, on completion of the inquiry or, as the case may be, the audit, make a report to the Corporation on such matters and in such form as the Corporation may specify.

• (6) The expenses of an audit under subsection (4) above, including the remuneration of the auditor, shall be paid by the Corporation.

• (7) An audit under subsection (4) above shall be additional to, and shall not affect, any audit made or to be made under any other enactment.

Corporation's power to act for protection of registered 1965 Act associations

20

• (1) Where the Corporation are satisfied, as the result of an inquiry or an audit under section 19 above, that there has been in the administration of a registered 1965 Act association any misconduct or mismanagement, the Corporation may do all or any of the following, namely,—

• (a) by order remove any member of the committee of the association, or any officer, agent or servant of the association, who has been responsible for or privy to the misconduct or mismanagement or has by his conduct contributed to it or facilitated it;

• (b) order any bank or other person who holds money or securities on behalf of the association not to part with the money or securities without the approval of the Corporation;

• (c) by order restrict the transactions which may be entered into, or the nature or amount of the payments which may be made, in the administration of the association without the approval of the Corporation.

• (2) The Corporation may also by order remove a member of the committee of a registered 1965 Act association where that member—

• (a) is a bankrupt or, in Scotland, is insolvent within the meaning of paragraph 9(2) of Schedule 3 to the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970 or is incapable of acting by reason of mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1959 or the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960 ;

• (b) has not acted ; or

• (c) cannot be found or does not act and his absence or failure to act impedes the committee's proper management of the association's affairs.

• (3) The Corporation may by order appoint a person to be a member of the committee of a registered 1965 Act association (whether or not he is a member of the association and, if he is not, notwithstanding that the rules of the association restrict membership of the committee to members of the association)—

• (a) in place of a member of the committee removed by them under this section or otherwise;

• (b) where there are no members of the committee; or

• (c) where the Corporation are of opinion that it is necessary for the proper management of the association's affairs to have an additional member of its committee.

• (4) A person appointed to be a member of the committee of a registered 1965 Act association under subsection (3) above shall hold office for such period and on such terms as the Corporation may specify and, on the expiry of any such period, the Corporation may renew the appointment for such period as they may specify; but nothing in this subsection shall prevent any such person from retiring from the appointment in accordance with the rules of the association.

• (5) Any member of the committee of a registered 1965 Act association or any officer, agent or servant of the association who is ordered by the Corporation to be removed under subsection (1)(a) or subsection (2) above may appeal against the order to the High Court or, as the case may be, the Court of Session.

• (6) Before making an order under subsection (1)(a) or subsection (2) above the Corporation shall give not less than 14 days' notice of their intention to do so—

• (a) to the person whom they intend to remove, and

• (b) to the registered 1965 Act association concerned,

and any such notice may be given by post and, if so given to the person whom the Corporation intend to remove, may be addressed to the recipient's last known address in the United Kingdom.

• (7) If any person contravenes an order under subsection (1)(b) above, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or to both ; but no proceedings for an offence punishable under this subsection shall be instituted in England and Wales except by or with the consent of the Corporation.

Corporation's power to require transfer of land of registered 1965 Act associations

21

• (1) Where the Corporation are satisfied, as the result of an inquiry or an audit under section 19 above, that—

• (a) there has been in the administration of a registered 1965 Act association any misconduct or mismanagement, or

• (b) the management of the land belonging to any such association would be improved if the land were to be transferred in accordance with the provisions of this section,

the Corporation may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, direct the association to transfer the land belonging to it to another body in accordance with subsection (2) below.

• (2) A direction under subsection (1) above may require the association concerned to transfer the land belonging to it,—

• (a) in a case where that association is a charity, to another registered housing association which is a charity and the objects of which appear to the Corporation to be, as nearly as practicable, akin to those of the association directed to make the transfer ; and

• (b) in any other case, to the Corporation or to another registered housing association.

• (3) A transfer in pursuance of a direction under subsection (1) above shall be made on the terms that the Corporation or, as the case may be, the association to which the land is transferred will pay or undertake to pay to the association making the transfer such sum, if any, as will be necessary to defray all its proper debts and liabilities (including any debts and liabilities secured on the land to be transferred) after taking into account any money or other assets belonging to the association.

• (4) If it appears to the Corporation to be likely that, as a result of a transfer in pursuance of a direction under subsection (1) above, the association making the transfer will be dissolved as mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 55 of the 1965 Act, the Corporation shall secure that the costs of such a dissolution are taken into account in determining the sum payable to the association under subsection (3) above.

Corporation's power to petition for winding up of certain registered housing associations

22

• (1) Without prejudice to the power of any person under any other enactment to petition for the winding up of a registered housing association which is a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1948, the Corporation may present a petition for the winding up under that Act of any such registered housing association on the ground that the association is failing properly to carry out its purposes or objects.

• (2) Subject to section 55(a) of the 1965 Act, subsection (1) above shall also apply in relation to a registered housing association which is not such a company as is mentioned in that subsection but which is a registered 1965 Act association.

Transfer of net assets on dissolution of registered 1965 Act associations

23

• (1) If a registered 1965 Act association is dissolved as mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 55 of the 1965 Act then, notwithstanding anything in that Act or in the rules of the association, there shall be transferred to the Corporation, or, if the Corporation so directs, to such registered housing association as may be specified in the direction, so much of the property of the association as remains after meeting the claims of its creditors and any other liabilities arising on or before the dissolution.

• (2) If it appears to the Corporation to be appropriate to do so in order to avoid the necessity for the sale of any land belonging to a registered 1965 Act association which is being dissolved as mentioned in subsection (1) above and thereby secure the transfer of the land under that subsection, the Corporation may make payments to discharge any such claims or liabilities as are referred to in that subsection.

• (3) The Corporation may not dispose of any property transferred to them by virtue of subsection (1) above otherwise than to a registered housing association or a subsidiary of the Corporation, and in any case where the property so transferred to the Corporation includes land subject to an existing mortgage or charge, whether in favour of the Corporation or otherwise, the Corporation may, in exercise of their powers under Part I of this Act, dispose of the land subject to that mortgage or charge or subject to a new mortgage or charge in favour of the Corporation, and the amount secured by any such new mortgage or charge shall be such as appears to the Corporation to be appropriate in the circumstances.

• (4) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (3) above, where property is transferred to the Corporation by virtue of subsection (1) above on the dissolution of a registered 1965 Act association which is a charity, the Corporation may not dispose of that property except to another registered housing association which is a charity and the objects of which appear to the Corporation to be, as nearly as practicable, akin to those of the association which was dissolved.

Restrictions on exercise of certain powers by registered 1965 Act associations

24

• (1) The provisions of this section apply in relation to a registered 1965 Act association, the registration of which by the Corporation has been recorded by the appropriate registrar under section 16(2) above, and references in the following provisions of this section to a registered 1965 Act association shall be construed accordingly.

• (2) The appropriate registrar shall not register a special resolution, as defined in section 50(2) of the 1965 Act, which is passed by a registered 1965 Act association for the purposes of section 50 or section 51 of that Act (amalgamation of societies and transfer of engagements between societies) unless, together with the copy of the special resolution sent to him as mentioned in section 50(4) of that Act, there is sent a copy of the Corporation's consent to the amalgamation or transfer concerned.

• (3) Section 52 of the 1965 Act (power of registered society to convert itself into, to amalgamate with, or to transfer its engagements to, a company registered under the Companies Acts) shall not apply to a registered 1965 Act association.

• (4) If, in pursuance of section 55(a) of the 1965 Act, a registered 1965 Act association resolves by special resolution, as defined in section 141 of the Companies Act 1948, that it be wound up voluntarily, the resolution shall not have effect for the purposes of that Act as a resolution for voluntary winding up unless—

• (a) before the passing of the resolution the Corporation have given their consent to the passing of the resolution, and

• (b) together with the copy of the resolution required to be forwarded to the appropriate registrar under section 143 of the Companies Act 1948 (as that section has effect by virtue of the said section 55(a)) there is forwarded a copy of the Corporation's consent.

• (5) If, in pursuance of section 55(b) of the 1965 Act, a registered 1965 Act association is to be dissolved by an instrument of dissolution, the appropriate registrar shall neither register that instrument, as required by subsection (5) of section 58 of that Act, nor cause notice of the dissolution to be advertised as mentioned in subsection (6) of that section unless, together with the instrument of dissolution required to be sent to him under subsection (4) of that section, there is sent a copy of the Corporation's consent to the making of that instrument.

• (6) Any reference in the preceding provisions of this section to the Corporation's consent is a reference to an order under the seal of the Corporation giving their consent.

Change of objects of certain charities to require consent

25

• (1) If, in the case of a registered charity which is a registered housing association,—

• (a) the charity is neither a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1948 nor an exempt charity, and

• (b) its registration by the Corporation has been recorded by the Charity Commissioners under section 16(2) above,

no power contained in the trusts of the charity and permitting any variation of or addition to the objects of the charity may be exercised without the consent of the Charity Commissioners.

• (2) Before giving any consent under subsection (1) above, the Charity Commissioners shall consult the Corporation.

• (3) In subsection (1) above "trusts" has the same meaning as in the Charities Act 1960.

Payments by registered housing associations to members, etc.

26

• (1) Subject to subsection (2) below, a registered housing association shall not make a gift or pay any sum by way of dividend or bonus—

• (a) to any person who is or has been a member of the association; or

• (b) to any person who is a member of the family of any such person as is referred to in paragraph (a) above; or

• (c) to any company of which a person falling within paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) above is a director or any Scottish firm of which such a person is a member.

• (2) Subsection (1) above does not apply to—

• (a) any sum paid, in accordance with the rules of the assocation concerned, as interest on capital lent to the association or subscribed by way of shares in the association; or

• (b) any sum which—

• (i) is paid by an association whose rules restrict membership to persons who are tenants or prospective tenants of the association and preclude the granting or assignment of tenancies to persons other than members; and

• (ii) is paid to a person who has ceased to be a member of the association; and

• (iii) is due to that person under the terms of the agreement under which he became a member of the association.

• (3) The Corporation may from time to time specify the maximum amounts which may be paid by a registered housing association, other than a registered charity which is not an exempt charity, by way of fees or other remuneration or by way of expenses to a person who is a member of the association, and different amounts may be so specified for different purposes.

• (4) Where a sum which exceeds any maximum amount for the time being specified under subsection (3) above is paid to a person who is a member of the association by a registered housing association to which that subsection applies, the amount by which that sum exceeds that maximum amount shall be recoverable by the association.

• (5) The Corporation may from time to time specify the conditions subject to which a member of the committee of a registered 1965 Act association may enter into a contract with the association for the provision by that member, directly or indirectly, of goods or services to the association in return for payment; and any such conditions may be so specified as to apply to particular associations, contracts or sums payable thereunder, or as to apply generally.

• (6) Any sum paid to a person under a contract in contravention of any condition specified under subsection (5) above shall be recoverable by the association making the payment.

Disclosure of interest by members of committees of registered 1965 Act associations

27

• (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of a member of the committee of a registered 1965 Act association who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with the association to declare the nature of his interest to the committee in accordance with this section.

• (2) In the case of a proposed contract, the declaration required by this section to be made by a member of a committee shall be made at the meeting of the committee at which the question of entering into the contract is first taken into consideration, or, if the member was not at the date of that meeting interested in the proposed contract, at the next meeting of the committee held after he becomes interested in the proposed contract.

• (3) Where a member of a committee becomes interested in a contract with the association after it is made, the declaration required by this section shall be made at the first meeting of the committee held after he becomes interested in the contract.

• (4) For the purposes of this section, a general notice given at a meeting of the committee of an association by a member of the committee to the effect that he is a member of a specified company or firm, and is to be regarded as interested in any contract which may, after the date of the notice, be made with that company or firm, is a sufficient declaration of interest in relation to any contract made after that date with that company or firm.

• (5) A member of a committee need not make a declaration or give a notice under this section by attending in person at a meeting of the committee if he takes reasonable steps to secure that the declaration or notice is brought up and read at the meeting.

• (6) A member of a committee who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

• (7) Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice the operation of any rule of law restricting members of the committee of a registered 1965 Act association from having any interest in contracts with the association.

Interpretation of Part II

28

Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, in this Part of this Act—

• " appropriate registrar " has the same meaning as in the 1965 Act;

• " charity " and " exempt charity " have the same meanings as in the Charities Act 1960; " committee ", in relation to a society registered under the 1965 Act, has the same meaning as in that Act;

• " house " has the same meaning as in Part I of the Housing Act 1964;

• " registered 1965 Act association " means a registered housing association which is a society registered under the 1965 Act; and

• " the 1965 Act " has the meaning assigned to it by section 13(1)(b) above.

PART III — Financial Assistance for Housing Associations

Housing association grants

29

• (1) The Secretary of State may, in accordance with the provisions of section 30 below, make grants (in this Part of this Act referred to as " housing association grants") to registered housing associations, other than associations falling within section 18(1)(b) of this Act, in respect of their expenditure in connection with housing projects approved by him.

• (2) For the purposes of this Part of this Act a project is a housing project if it is undertaken for all or any of the following purposes, namely,—

• (a) providing housing or residential accommodation,

• (b) improving such accommodation,

• (c) repairing such accommodation,

• (d) providing land or buildings for purposes which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, will be for the benefit of persons for whom any housing or residential accommodation is or is to be provided, and

• (e) improving or repairing any such buildings as are referred to in paragraph (d) above,

and in this subsection " housing or residential accommodation " means dwellings which are or are to be let or available for letting or a building or part of a building used or for use as a hostel or part of a hostel and for this purpose the grant of a licence to occupy shall be treated as a letting.

• (3) No housing association grant shall be paid in respect of any project unless an application therefor is submitted to the appropriate body, that is to say,—

• (a) in England and Wales, if the registered housing association concerned makes an application to a council for a loan under section 119 of the Housing Act 1957 in connection with the project, to that council, and in any other case to the Corporation, and

• (b) in Scotland, to a local authority, the Corporation or the Secretary of State,

and where a council in England and Wales, a local authority in Scotland or the Corporation receive an application under this subsection, they shall forward it to the Secretary of State together with their own assessment of the project.

• (4) Subject to subsection (5) below, the housing association grant payable to a registered housing association in respect of a housing project approved by the Secretary of State shall be equal to the net cost of the project to the association.

• (5) The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, determine maximum levels of cost or of grant applicable to housing projects generally, to any particular housing project or to any description of housing project, and the amount of the housing association grant payable in respect of a project to which any such determination applies shall be limited in accordance with the determination.

• (6) Subject to subsection (7) below, for the purposes of this section the net cost of a housing project to a registered housing association means the difference between—

• (a) the estimated expenditure of the association which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, is attributable to the project and reasonable and appropriate, having regard to all the circumstances, and

• (b) the estimated income which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the association might reasonably be expected to receive in respect of the project, including any sums received or to be received by way of grant or subsidy under any enactment, other than this section,

and for this purpose estimated expenditure and estimated income shall be calculated in such manner as the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, from time to time determine, and any such calculation may take account of expenditure likely to be incurred and income likely to be received after the completion of the project in connection with the premises to which the project relates.

• (7) If, in the case of an application for a housing association grant in respect of a particular project, it appears to the Secretary of State that it would be appropriate to do so, he may for the purposes of this section determine the net cost of the project to the association in such manner as he considers appropriate instead of in accordance with subsection (6) above.

• (8) Before making any general determination for the purposes of subsection (5) or subsection (6) above, the Secretary of State shall consult such bodies appearing to him to be representative of housing associations as he considers appropriate.

Payments of housing association grant

30

• (1) According as the Secretary of State may determine, a housing association grant in respect of a housing project shall be payable—

• (a) in a single sum at such time as, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the project is completed, or

• (b) in annual instalments beginning in the financial year in which, in his opinion, the project is completed and continuing over such number of years as he may determine, either generally or in relation to the particular project,

but, in either case, the Secretary of State may, if he considers it appropriate to do so, make payments on account of the grant before the project is completed.

• (2) In giving his approval to a housing project for the purposes of a housing association grant, the Secretary of State may provide that payment of the grant is conditional upon compliance by the housing association concerned with such conditions as he may specify, including (in a case where the project has not yet been completed) conditions as to the period within which it is to be completed.

• (3) The Secretary of State may reduce the amount of, or of any payment in respect of, a housing association grant or suspend or discontinue any instalments of such a grant—

• (a) if he imposed any conditions under subsection (2) above and any of those conditions have not been complied with; or

• (b) if he is satisfied that the whole or any part of a building to which the project relates and which comprises or is intended to comprise housing or residential accommodation as defined in section 29(2) above—

• (i) has been converted, demolished or destroyed; or

• (ii) is not fit to be used or is not being used for the purpose for which it was intended; or

• (iii) has been sold or leased ; or

• (iv) has ceased for any reason whatsoever to be vested in the housing association concerned or in trustees for that association.

• (4) If at any time any dwelling or hostel or part thereof to which a housing project relates is leased to or becomes vested in a registered housing association or trustees for a registered housing association, other than the association by whom the application for the housing association grant relating to that project was made, the Secretary of State may pay to that other association the whole or any part of the grant or any instalment thereof which would otherwise have been paid after that time to the association by whom the application for the grant was made.

• (5) If, at any time after a housing association grant or any payment in respect of such a grant has been made to a registered housing association, it appears to the Secretary of State that any building to which the housing project concerned relates has ceased to be available for use for the purpose for which, at the time the project was approved, it was intended that it should be used, he may direct the association to pay to him an amount equal to the whole or such proportion as he may determine of that grant or, as the case may be, of any payment made in respect of it; and any amount which a registered housing association is directed to repay to the Secretary of State under this subsection shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt, or in Scotland as a debt due under a contract, in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• (6) For the purposes of this section, the whole or any part of any building is leased if and only if it is leased for a term exceeding 7 years, or for a term not exceeding 7 years granted by a lease which confers on the lessee an option for renewal for a term which, together with the original term, exceeds 7 years.

• (7) No housing association grant (or payment in respect of such a grant) may be made before the operative date, but applications for such grants may be submitted in accordance with section 29(3) above before that date and may be so submitted by a housing association notwithstanding that it is not then registered.

• (8) On such terms as he may with the approval of the Treasury specify, the Secretary of State may appoint the Corporation, the Greater London Council, a district council, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London or a local authority within the meaning of section 1 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1966 to act as his agent in connection with the making, in such cases as he may specify, of payments in respect of housing association grant; and where such an appointment is made the Corporation, council or local authority, as the case may be, shall act as such an agent in accordance with the terms of their appointment.

Management grants for certain housing associations

31

• (1) If it appears to the Secretary of State that—

• (a) before 1st January 1973 a housing association provided any dwellings without the assistance of any grant, subsidy or contribution from the Secretary of State or a local authority under any enactment, other than section 93 of the Finance Act 1965 (grants for affording relief from tax), and

• (b) during the whole or any part of an accounting year of the association beginning on or after that date the dwellings were subject to tenancies to which Part VIII of the Housing Finance Act 1972 or sections 60 to 66 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972 applied, being tenancies under which the interest of the landlord belonged to the association, and

• (c) by reason of the operation of the said Part VIII, or of the said sections 60 to 66, and the association's lack of any other funds, the association has incurred a deficit in that accounting year as a result of its expenditure in connection with those dwellings,

the Secretary of State may, in accordance with the provisions of this section, pay to the association a grant towards the difference between the income arising to the association from those dwellings in that year and so much of the expenditure incurred by the association in that year as, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, was necessary for the proper management of those dwellings.

• (2) No grant shall be payable under this section in respect of an accounting year of a housing association unless—

• (a) an application in respect of that year is made by the association to the Secretary of State not later than the expiry of the period of 15 months beginning immediately after the end of that year and that application is approved by him; and

• (b) the application is made with the consent of the Corporation ; and

• (c) both at the time the application is made and at the time the grant is paid the association is a registered housing association.

• (3) An application under subsection (2) above shall be in such form and contain such information as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine.

• (4) A grant to a housing association under this section shall be paid in a single sum in respect of the year to which it relates; and the amount of any such grant shall be calculated in such manner as the Secretary of State may, with the agreement of the Treasury, determine.

• (5) No grant shall be paid under this section before the operative date, but an application for such a grant may be made before that date.

Revenue deficit grants for registered housing associations

32

• (1) The Secretary of State may, in accordance with the provisions of this section, pay a grant (in this section referred to as a " revenue deficit grant ") to a registered housing association, other than an association falling within paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 18(1) above, if the association incurs a deficit on its annual revenue account for an accounting year of the association ending on or after 1st January 1974.

• (2) No revenue deficit grant shall be payable in respect of an accounting year of a registered housing association unless—

• (a) an application in respect of that year is made by the association to the Secretary of State not later than the expiry of the period of 15 months beginning immediately after the end of that year and that application is approved by him; and

• (b) the application is in such form and contains such information as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine ; and

• (c) the application is accompanied by the audited accounts of the association for the accounting year to which the application relates.

• (3) Subject to subsection (4) below, for the purposes of this section, a registered housing association shall be treated as incurring a deficit on its annual revenue account for an accounting year of the association if—