(1)A local authority may provide or arrange for the provision of assistance to a person in connection with—
(a)the acquisition or sale (or the proposed acquisition or sale) of a house, or
(b)work on any land or in any premises for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2).
(2)Those purposes are—
(a)provision of one or more houses by the conversion of a house or other premises,
(b)construction of a house,
(c)improvement, repair or maintenance of a house,
(d)bringing any house into, or keeping any house in, a reasonable state of repair,
(e)adaptation of a house for a disabled person to make it suitable for the accommodation, welfare or employment of that person,
(f)reinstatement of any house adapted for the purpose set out in paragraph (e),
(g)provision, in relation to a house, of means of escape from fire and other fire precautions.
(3)Such assistance may, in particular, be in the form of—
(a)the provision of advice, training or other services and facilities,
(b)the provision of information relating to housing,
(c)making available the services of staff of the local authority,
(d)guaranteeing or joining in guaranteeing the payment of the principal of, and interest on, money borrowed by the person (including money borrowed by the issue of loan capital) or of interest on share capital issued by the person,
(e)payments in respect of any expenses incurred in connection with the opening of a maintenance account,
(f)acquiring, holding, managing and disposing of land or premises,
(g)grants,
(h)standard loans,
(i)subsidised loans.
(4)Assistance may be provided on such terms as the authority thinks fit (subject to any provision about such terms made by or under this Part).
(5)Sections 74 to 90, 92 and 93 do not apply to assistance provided under subsection (1)(a).
(6)The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make further provision about the provision of assistance under subsection (1).
(7)Those regulations may, in particular, make provision as to—
(a)the procedure to be followed by local authorities in—
(i)considering whether to provide such assistance,
(ii)providing or arranging for the provision of such assistance,
(b)the terms which may be imposed under subsection (4) on providing any such assistance (including provision restricting or requiring the imposition of a term).
(8)In this section, “house for a disabled person” means a house which—
(a)is a disabled person’s residence at the time when assistance is first provided, or
(b)is likely in the opinion of the local authority to become a disabled person’s residence within a reasonable period after that time.