Housing Repairs and Rents Act 1954

49 Interpretation of Part II

(1) In this Part of this Act (including the Second and Fourth Schedules thereto) the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say:—

• " Act of 1920 " means the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1920;

• " Act of 1923 " means the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Act, 1923 ;

• " Act of 1933 " means the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions (Amendment) Act, 1933 ;

• " Act of 1938 " means the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1938 ;

• " Act of 1939 " means the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Act, 1939;

• " Act of 1946 " means the Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act, 1946;

• " Act of 1949 " means the Landlord and Tenant (Rent Control) Act, 1949;

• " controlled tenancy " means a tenancy to which the Act of 1920 applies ;

• " dwelling-house " means the aggregate of the land comprised in a controlled tenancy or prospective controlled tenancy, or the aggregate of the land of which a tenant retains possession as statutory tenant;

• " good repair ", in relation to any premises, means that having regard to the age, character and locality of the premises they are in good repair both as respects structure and as respects decoration ;

• " landlord ", " tenant " and " tenancy " have the same meanings respectively as in the Act of 1920 ;

• " local authority ", in relation to any premises, means the council of the county borough, county district or metropolitan borough in which the premises are situated or, if the premises are situated in the City of London, the Common Council of the City of London ;

• " mortgage " includes any lien or charge, and the expression " mortgagee " shall be construed accordingly ;

• " premium " includes any fine or like sum or any other pecuniary consideration in addition to rent;

• " prescribed " means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

• " the Rent Acts " means the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Acts, 1920 to 1939 ;

• " repair " includes maintenance, but does not include improvement or structural alteration or the provision of additional or improved fixtures or fittings, and " repairs " shall be construed accordingly ;

• " repairs increase " has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (2) of section twenty-three of this Act;

• " statutory repairs deduction " has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (4) of section twenty-three of this Act;

• " statutory tenant " means a tenant (as defined in paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section twelve of the Act of 1920) who retains possession by virtue of the Rent Acts and not as being entitled to a tenancy, and " statutory tenancy " shall be construed accordingly ;

• " tenant ", in relation to a landlord, and " sub-tenant ", in relation to a tenant, mean respectively immediate tenant and immediate sub-tenant.

(2) In the application of this Part of this Act to the Isles of Scilly, for the references to the council of a county district there shall be substituted references to the Council of the said Isles.

(3) References in this Part of this Act to the gross value of a dwelling-house shall be construed as follows:—

(a) where on the appropriate day a value was shown with respect to that dwelling-house in the valuation list then in force, the gross value shall be taken to be the value shown on that day in that list as the gross value of the dwelling-house;

(b) where on the appropriate day the value of any hereditament comprising the dwelling-house was shown in the valuation list then in force, the gross value of the dwelling-house shall be taken to be the just proportion of the value shown on that day in that list as the gross value of the said hereditament;

and for the purposes of this subsection the just proportion of any value shall be determined by agreement in writing between the landlord and the tenant or, on the application of either of them, by the county court in like manner as that court apportions rateable values under subsection (3) of section twelve of the Act of 1920.

In this subsection the expression " the appropriate day" means—

(i) the day of the commencement of this Act, if on that day a value was shown in the valuation list then in force as the gross value of the dwelling-house or of any hereditament comprising the dwelling-house;

(ii) in any other case, the first day after the commencement of this Act on which a value was shown in the valuation list in force on that day as the gross value of the dwelling-house or any such hereditament as aforesaid.