Housing Act 1985

Powers of county councils E+W

28 Reserve powers to provide housing accommodation. E+W

(1) County councils have the following reserve powers in relation to the provision of housing accommodation.

(2) They may undertake any activity for the purposes of, or incidental to, establishing the needs of the whole or a part of the county with respect to the provision of housing accommodation.

(3) If requested to do so by one or more local housing authorities for districts within the county, they may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, undertake on behalf of the authority or authorities the provision of housing accommodation in any manner in which they might do so.

(4) With the approval of the Secretary of State given on an application made by them, they may undertake the provision of housing accommodation in any manner in which a local housing authority for a district within the county might do so.

(5) The Secretary of State shall not give his consent under subsection (3) or his approval under subsection (4) except after consultation with the local housing authorities who appear to him to be concerned; and his consent or approval may be made subject to such conditions and restrictions as he may from time to time specify and, in particular, may include conditions with respect to—

(a) the transfer of the ownership and management of housing accommodation provided by the county council to the local housing authority, and

(b) the recovery by the county council from local housing authorities of expenditure incurred by the county council in providing accommodation.

(6) Before a county council by virtue of subsection (3) or (4) exercise outside the county any power under this Part they shall give notice to the council of the county in which they propose to exercise the power; but failure to give notice does not invalidate the exercise of the power.

29 Provision of accommodation for employees of county councils. E+W

(1) A county council may provide houses for persons employed or paid by, or by a statutory committee of, the council.

(2) For that purpose the council may acquire or appropriate land in the same way as a local housing authority may acquire or appropriate land for the purposes of this Part; and land so acquired or appropriated may be disposed of by them in the same way as land held for the purposes of this Part.