Housing Act 1974

99 Exclusion of dwellings controlled by Crown or a public authority

(1) No provisional notice or improvement notice may be served in respect of a dwelling in which there is a Crown or Duchy interest except with the consent of the appropriate authority and, where a provisional notice or improvement notice is served with the consent of the appropriate authority, this Part of this Act shall apply in relation to the dwelling as it applies in relation to a dwelling in which there is no such interest.

(2) No provisional notice or improvement notice may be served in respect of a dwelling if the person having control of the dwelling is—

(a) a local authority ;

(b) the Commission for the New Towns ;

(c) the Housing Corporation ;

(d) a registered housing association;

(e) a development corporation within the meaning of the [1965 c. 59.] New Towns Act 1965 ; or

(f) a housing trust as defined in section 5(3) of the [1968 c. 23.] Rent Act 1968 which is a charity within the meaning of the [1960 c. 58.] Charities Act 1960.

(3) If, after a provisional notice or an improvement notice has been served in respect of any dwelling,—

(a) any such body as is mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (2) above becomes the person having control of the dwelling, or

(b) in the case of a dwelling in which there is a Crown or Duchy interest, the appropriate authority becomes the person having control of the dwelling,

any such notice with respect to the dwelling and any undertaking accepted under this Part of this Act with respect to the dwelling shall cease to have effect.

(4) If, by virtue of subsection (3) above, an improvement notice with respect to any dwelling ceases to have effect, it shall be the duty of the body which or person who has become the person having control of the dwelling as mentioned in that subsection to notify the officer who registered the notice in the register of local land charges and to furnish him with all information required by him for the purpose of cancelling the registration.

(5) In this section " Crown or Duchy interest" means an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or of the Duchy of Lancaster, or belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall or belonging to a government department, or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, and " the appropriate authority ",—

(a) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and forming part of the Crown Estate, means the Crown Estate Commissioners, and, in relation to any other land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, means the government department having the management of that land ;

(b) in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster, means the Chancellor of the Duchy;

(c) in relation to land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall, means such person as the Duke of Cornwall, or the possessor for the time being of the Duchy of Cornwall, appoints; and

(d) in relation to land belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, means that department;

and if any question arises as to what authority is the appropriate authority in relation to any land, that question shall be referred to the Treasury, whose decision shall be final.

(6) In this section " local authority " includes, in addition to the bodies which, by virtue of section 104(1) below, are local authorities for the purposes of this Part of this Act,—

(a) a county council;

(b) the Greater London Council;

(c) a parish or community council;

(d) the trustees of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple;

(e) the trustees of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple;

(f) the police authority for any police area ; and

(g) any joint board or joint committee all the constituent members of which are local authorities for the purposes of this section.