Part VIIIGrants Towards Cost of Improvements and Repairs etc.
Preliminary conditions
105Common parts grants: preliminary conditions
1
A local housing authority may not entertain an application for a common parts grant unless they are satisfied—
a
that, at the date of the application, at least the required proportion of the flats in the building concerned is occupied by occupying tenants; and
b
that the application is either a landlord’s common parts application or a tenants' common parts application.
2
In this Part—
a
an “occupying tenant”, in relation to a flat in a building, is a person—
i
who has (alone or jointly with others) such an interest in the flat as is mentioned in any of paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (4) below; and
ii
who occupies the flat as his only or main residence;
b
a “landlord’s common parts application”, in relation to works to the common parts of a building, is an application for a common parts grant made by a person who—
i
has (alone or jointly with others) such an interest in the building as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (4) below; and
ii
has a duty or power to carry out the relevant works; and
c
a “tenants' common parts application”, in relation to works to the common parts of a building, is an application for a common parts grant made, subject to subsection (3) below, by at least three-quarters of the occupying tenants of the building who, under their tenancies, have a duty to carry out, or to make a contribution in respect of the carrying out of, some or all of the relevant works;
and in any case where a tenancy is held by two or more persons jointly, those persons shall be regarded as a single occupying tenant in deciding, for the purposes of paragraph (c) above, whether the application is made by at least three-quarters of the occupying tenants referred to in that paragraph.
3
For the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection (2) above, a tenant whose tenancy is of a description specified for the purpose of that paragraph by an order made by the Secretary of State shall be treated as an occupying tenant falling within that paragraph; and a person who falls within paragraph (b)(i) of that subsection and has a duty or power to carry out any of the relevant works may also join in a tenants' common parts application; and, where such a person does join in an application, he is in this Part referred to as a “participating landlord”.
4
The interests referred to in subsection (2) above are as follows—
a
an estate in fee simple absolute in possession;
b
a term of years absolute of which not less than five years remain unexpired at the date of the application;
c
a tenancy to which section 1 of the [1954 c. 56.] Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 or Schedule 10 to this Act applies (long tenancies at low rents);
d
an assured tenancy, a protected tenancy, a secure tenancy, a protected occupancy or a statutory tenancy; and
e
a tenancy which satisfies such conditions as may be prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.
5
The required proportion mentioned in subsection (1) above is three-quarters or such other proportion as may be—
a
prescribed for the purposes of this section by an order made by the Secretary of State; or
b
approved by him, in relation to a particular case or description of case, on application made by the local housing authority concerned.