Housing Act 1964

24 Acceptance of undertakings to carry out works

(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.