71Repairs grants
(1)A local authority shall pay a repairs grant if—
(a)an application for such a grant, made in accordance with this Part of this Act, is approved by them, and
(b)the conditions for the payment of the grant are fulfilled,
and, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, a local authority may approve an application for a repairs grant in such circumstances as they think fit.
(2)In considering whether or not to exercise their discretion to approve an application for a repairs grant, a local authority shall have regard to the question whether, in their opinion, the applicant would without undue hardship be able to finance the cost of the relevant works without the assistance of a repairs grant.
(3)A local authority shall not approve an application for a repairs grant unless they are satisfied—
(a)that the dwelling or, as the case may be, each of the dwellings to which the application relates is situated in a general improvement area or a housing action area, and
(b)that on completion of the relevant works the dwelling or, as the case may be, each of the dwellings to which the application relates will attain the relevant standard of repair.
(4)Without prejudice to the discretion of a local authority to approve or decline to approve an application for a repairs grant, if, in the opinion of the authority, the relevant works are more extensive than is necessary for the purpose of securing that the dwelling or, as the case may be, any of the dwellings to which the application relates will attain the relevant standard of repair, the authority may, with the consent of the applicant, treat the application as varied so that the relevant works include only such works as seem to the authority to be necessary for that purpose, and may approve the application as so varied.
(5)For the purposes of this section a dwelling shall be taken to attain the relevant standard of repair if it is in good repair (disregarding the state of internal decorative repair) having regard to its age and character and the locality in which it is situated.