Housing Act 1964

3 Provision of land for housing societies

(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.