Housing Act 1964

86 Termination of control order

(1) A control order shall cease to have effect at the expiration of a period of five years beginning with the date on which it came into force.

(2) The local authority may at any earlier time either on an application under this section, or on their own initiative, by order revoke a control order.

(3) Not less than twenty-one days before the local authority revoke a control order they shall serve notice of their intention to revoke the order on the persons occupying any part of the house, and on every person who is, to the knowledge of the local authority, an owner or lessee or mortgagee of the house.

(4) If any person applies to the local authority requesting the local authority to revoke a control order, and giving the grounds on which the application is made, the local authority shall, if they refuse the application, inform the applicant of their decision and of their reasons for rejecting the grounds advanced by the applicant; and if the local authority refuse the application or do not within forty-two days from the making of the application or within such further period as the applicant may in writing allow, inform the applicant of their decision on the application, the applicant may appeal to the county court, and the county court may revoke the order:

Provided that if an appeal has been brought under this section, then, except with the leave of the county court, another appeal shall not be so brought, whether by the same or a different appellant, in respect of the same control order until the expiration of a period of six months beginning with the final determination of the first-mentioned appeal.

(5) If on an appeal under the last foregoing subsection the local authority represent to the court that revocation of the control order would unreasonably delay completion of any works of which particulars were given in the relevant scheme under this Part of this Act and which the local authority have begun to carry out, the court shall take the representations into account and may, if they think fit, revoke the control order as from the time when the works are completed.

(6) If an appellant under this section has an estate or interest in the house which, apart from the rights conferred on the local authority by this Part of this Act, and apart from the rights of persons occupying any part of the house, would give him the right to possession of the house, and that estate or interest was, when the control order came into force, subject to a lease for a term of years which has subsequently expired, then if that person satisfies the court that he is in a position, and intends, if the control order is revoked, to demolish or reconstruct the house or to carry out substantial work of construction on the site of the house, the county court shall revoke the control order.

(7) Where in a case falling under the last foregoing subsection the court is not satisfied as therein mentioned, but would be so satisfied if the date of revocation of the control order were a date later than the date of the hearing of the appeal, the court shall, if the appellant so requires, make an order for the revocation of the control order on that later date.

(8) If on an appeal under this section the county court decides to revoke the control order, the court may make an order under which the revocation does not take effect until the time for appealing against the decision of the county court has expired and until any such appeal brought within that time has been finally determined.

(9) Where—

(a) the county court on an appeal under this section revokes the control order, or

(b) the local authority propose to revoke a control order on their own initiative, and apply to the county court under this subsection,

the court may take all or any of the following steps, to take effect on the revocation of the control order, that is—

(a) approve the making of an order under section 12 of the Act of 1961,

(b) approve the giving of a notice under section 14, 15 or 16 of the Act of 1961, or

(c) approve the giving of a direction under section 19 of the Act of 1961,

and no appeal against any order or notice so approved shall lie under section 12(4), 14(5) or 17 of the Act of 1961.

(10) Where the county court on an appeal under this section decide to revoke a control order for a house which by virtue of this Act will be charged with any sum in favour of the local authority the court may make it a condition of the revocation of the control order that the appellant first pays off to the local authority that sum, or such part of that sum as the court may specify.

(11) in the application of this section to Scotland—

(a) where a control order is revoked by a local authority under subsection (2), or by the sheriff on an appeal under subsection (4), of this section, the local authority shall as soon as practicable thereafter cause to be recorded in the General Register of Sasines the revocation order made by them or, as the case may be, a notice stating that the said order has been revoked by the sheriff as aforesaid ;

(b) subsection (8) shall not apply;

(c) for subsection (10) there shall be substituted the following subsection:—

“(10) Where the sheriff on an appeal under this section decides to revoke a control order in respect of a house from the dispossessed proprietor of which any amount will be recoverable by virtue of this Part of this Act, the sheriff may make it a condition of the revocation of the control order that the appellant first pays off to the local authority that amount, or such part of that amount as the sheriff may specify.”