100Duty of local authority to offer loans to meet expenses of compulsory improvement
(1)Any person who is liable to incur expenditure in complying with an improvement notice served, or undertaking accepted, under this Part of this Act, or who is liable to make a payment as directed by a court under section 91(6) above, may apply to the local authority for a loan.
(2)Subject to the following provisions of this section, if the local authority are satisfied that the applicant for a loan can reasonably be expected to meet obligations assumed by him in pursuance of this section in respect of a loan of the amount of the expenditure or payment to which the application relates, the local authority shall offer to enter into a contract with the applicant for a loan by the local authority to the applicant of that amount, to be secured to the local authority by a mortgage of the applicant's interest in the dwelling concerned.
(3)Subject to the following provisions of this section, if the local authority are not satisfied as mentioned in subsection (2) above but consider that the applicant can reasonably be expected to meet obligations assumed by him in pursuance of this section in respect of a loan of a smaller amount, the local authority may, if they think fit, offer to enter into a contract with the applicant for a loan by the local authority to the applicant of that smaller amount, to be secured as mentioned in subsection (2) above.
(4)Any contract entered into by a local authority under this section shall contain a condition to the effect that, if an improvement grant or intermediate grant becomes payable under Part VII of this Act in respect of the expenditure or payment to which the application under this section relates, the local authority shall not be required to lend a sum greater than the amount of the expenditure or payment to which the application relates after deduction of the amount of the improvement grant, or, as the case may be, the intermediate grant.
(5)A local authority shall not make an offer under the preceding provisions of this section unless they are satisfied—
(a)that the applicant's interest in the dwelling concerned amounts to an estate in fee simple absolute in possession or an estate for a term of years which will not expire before the date for final repayment of the loan; and
(b)that, according to a valuation made on behalf of the local authority, the amount of the principal of the loan does not exceed the value which it is estimated that the mortgaged security will bear after improvement of the dwelling to the full standard or, as the case may be, to the reduced standard.
(6)The rate of interest payable on a loan under this section shall be such as the Secretary of State may direct either generally or in any particular case and the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, give directions, either generally or in any particular case, as to the time within which a loan under this section, or any part of such a loan, is to be repaid.
(7)Subject to the preceding provisions of this section, the contract offered by a local authority under this section shall require proof of title and contain such other reasonable terms as the local authority may specify in their offer and, in particular, may provide for the advance being made by instalments from time to time as the works specified in the improvement notice progress.
(8)An application under this section shall be made in writing within the period of 3 months beginning with the date when the improvement notice becomes operative or the undertaking is accepted or the payment is to be made as directed by the court, as the case may be, or such longer period as the local authority by permission given in writing may allow.
(9)Where an improvement grant or intermediate grant is payable under Part VII of this Act partly in respect of expenditure or a payment to which the application under this section relates and partly in respect of other expenditure or another payment, the references in subsection (4) above to an intermediate grant or an improvement grant shall be taken as a reference to the part of the intermediate grant or improvement grant which in the opinion of the local authority is attributable to the expenditure or payment to which the application under this section relates.