Housing Act 1957

Housing associations

119 Power of local authorities and county councils to promote and assist housing associations

(1) A local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act, or a county council, may promote the formation or extension of, or, subject to the provisions of this Act, assist, a housing association.

(2) Where a housing association desires to erect houses which in the opinion of the Minister are required, and the local authority of the area in which the houses are proposed to be built are unwilling to acquire land with a view to selling or leasing it to the association, the county council, on the application of the association, may for this purpose acquire land and exercise all the powers of a local authority under this Part of this Act in regard to the acquisition and disposal of land, and the provisions of this Part of this Act as to the acquisition of land by local authorities shall apply accordingly.

(3) Any such local authority or county council with the consent of, and subject to any regulations or conditions which may be made or imposed by, the Minister may, for the assistance of a housing association—

(a) make grants or loans to the association,

(b) subscribe for any share or loan capital of the association,

(c) guarantee or join in guaranteeing the payment of the principal of and interest on any money borrowed by the association (including money borrowed by the issue of loan capital) or of interest on any share capital issued by the association,

on such terms and conditions as to rate of interest and repayment or otherwise and on such security as the local authority or county council think fit.

The Minister's power of making regulations under this subsection shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section four of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1893, where a local authority or county council assist an association under this subsection, the local authority or council shall not be prevented from having or claiming an interest in the shares of the association exceeding the limit prescribed by that section.

(5) Any expenses incurred by a county council under this section shall be defrayed as expenses for general county purposes.

120 Arrangements with housing associations for provision of housing

(1) A local authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make arrangements with a housing association for the purpose of enabling the association to provide housing accommodation or to alter, enlarge, repair or improve houses or buildings which, or an estate or interest in which, the local authority have acquired with a view to the provision or improvement of housing accommodation.

(2) Arrangements made under this section shall include such terms with regard to such matters, including the types of houses to be provided, and the rents at which the houses provided are to be let, as may appear to the local authority to be expedient in view of the needs of their district in relation to housing and may be approved by the Minister.

(3) For the purposes of section ninety-three of this Act, the housing accommodation in connection with which buildings or land may be provided under that section shall include housing accommodation provided by a housing association under arrangements made with a local authority under this section.

In this subsection the reference to arrangements made under this section includes a reference to arrangements made under section twenty-nine of the Housing Act, 1930, and, without prejudice to section one hundred and ninety-two of this Act, to arrangements made under section twenty-seven of the Housing Act, 1935, or section ninety-four of the Housing Act, 1936.

(4) If a housing association represent to the Minister that they have submitted to the local authority proposals for arrangements under this section and that the local authority have unreasonably refused to make arrangements in accordance with the proposals, the Minister may require the authority to furnish him with a report as to the matter stating the reasons for their refusal.

121 Arrangements with housing associations for improvement of housing

(1) A local authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make arrangements with a housing association for—

(a) the provision of dwellings by the association by means of the conversion of houses or other buildings,

(b) the alteration, enlargement, repair or improvement of dwellings by the housing association.

(2) Arrangements made under this section shall include such terms with regard to such matters, including the rents at which the dwellings are to be let, as may appear to the local authority to be expedient in view of the needs of their district in relation to housing and may be approved by the Minister.

(3) In this section the reference to repair does not include the execution of works of ordinary repair except so far as the execution thereof is incidental to or connected with the execution of works of improvement, alteration or enlargement or of works of repair not being ordinary works of repair.

(4) As respects the administrative county of London, other than the City of London, both the metropolitan borough council and the London County Council shall be local authorities for the purposes of this section.

122 Power of local authorities to sell furniture to persons housed by housing associations

A local authority shall have power to sell, or supply under hire-purchase agreement, furniture to the occupants of houses .provided by a housing association under arrangements made with the local authority, and, for that purpose, to buy furniture.

In this section the expression " hire-purchase " has the same meaning as in the Hire-Purchase Act, 1938.

123 Unification of conditions affecting housing associations' houses

Where the Minister has undertaken to make in respect of any houses under the management of a housing association contributions under more than one enactment and the association are required to observe in the management of the houses varying special conditions or terms imposed by those enactments, the Minister may, on the application of the association and after consultation with any local authority who are under obligation to make grants or contributions in respect of any of the houses, make a scheme specifying, as conditions to be observed in the management of all the houses in substitution for the conditions or terms imposed as aforesaid, such conditions as he thinks fit, and in specifying the conditions to be so observed the Minister shall have regard to the provisions of this Part of this Act with respect to the conditions which a local authority are required to observe in relation to their houses.

124 Power of Minister to recognise central housing association

The Minister may, if he thinks fit, recognise for the purposes of this section any central association or other body established for the purpose of promoting the formation and extension of housing associations and of giving them advice and assistance, and the Minister may, in any of the five years next following the date on which he recognises the said body, make a grant in aid of the expenses of the body of such amount as he may with the approval of the Treasury determine.