Housing Act 1985

Revocation of order by county court on appealagainst making of order E+W

17 (1) The provisions of this paragraph apply where a control order is revoked by the county court on an appeal against the control order.

(2) The court shall take into consideration whether the state or condition of the house is such that action ought to be taken by the local housing authority under any other provision of this Part, and shall approve the taking of any of the following steps accordingly, that is—

(a) the serving of a notice under section 352, 366 or 372 (notices requiring the execution of works),

(b) the giving of a direction under section 354 (direction limiting number of occupants of house), or

(c) the making of an order under section 370 (order applying management code to house);

and no appeal lies against a notice or order so approved.

(3) If the local housing authority are in the course of carrying out works in the house which, if a control order were not in force, the authority would have power to require some other person to carry out under any provision of this Part or under any other enactment relating to housing or public health, and on the hearing of the appeal the court is satisfied that the carrying out of the works could not be postponed until after the determination of the appeal by the county court because the works were urgently required for the sake of the safety, welfare or health of persons living in the house, or of other persons, the court may suspend the revocation of the control order until the works have been completed.

(4) The county court shall fix the date on which the control order is to be revoked without regard to whether an appeal has been or may be brought against the decision of the county court; but that does not prevent the local housing authority from bringing such an appeal.

(5) The court may authorise the local housing authority to create under section 381(1)(c) (power to create interests akin to leases) interests which expire, or which the dispossessed proprietor can terminate, within six months from the time when the control order ceases to have effect, being interests which, notwithstanding section 381(2), are for a fixed term exceeding one month or are terminable by notice to quit (or an equivalent notice) of more than four weeks.

18 (1) If a control order is revoked by the county court on an appeal against the order, the local housing authority shall pay to the dispossessed proprietor the balances, which from time to time accrued to the authority after deducting from the rent or other payments received by the authority from persons occupying the house—

(a) the compensation payable by the authority to the dispossessed proprietor, and

(b) all expenditure (other than capital expenditure) incurred by the authority in respect of the house while the control order was in force.

(2) If the court is satisfied that the balances which the local housing authority are under sub-paragraph (1) liable to pay to the dispossessed proprietor are unduly low for any reason within the control of the authority, having regard to—

(a) the desirability of observing the standards of management contained in regulations made under section 369 (the management code), and

(b) the other standards which the authority ought to observe as to the number of persons living in the house and the rents which they ought to charge,

the court shall direct that, for the purposes of the authority’s liability to the dispossessed proprietor under this paragraph, the balances under sub-paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be such greater sums as the court may direct.

(3) The court shall not under sub-paragraph (2) give a direction which will afford to the dispossessed proprietor a sum greater than what he may, in the opinion of the court, have lost by the making of the control order.

(4) If different persons are dispossessed proprietors of different parts of the house, sums payable under this paragraph by the local housing authority shall be apportioned between them in the manner provided by paragraph 14.

19 (1) The provisions of this paragraph have effect for the purpose of enabling the local housing authority to recover capital expenditure incurred in carrying out works in the house in the period before the control order is revoked on an appeal against the order.

(2) On the hearing of the appeal the authority may apply to the court for the approval of those works on the ground that—

(a) they were works which, if a control order had not been in force, the authority could have required some person to carry out under any provision of this Part or under any other enactment relating to housing or public health, and

(b) the works could not be postponed until after the determination of the appeal by the county court because they were urgently required for the sake of the safety, welfare or health of persons living in the house, or other persons.

(3) Expenditure reasonably incurred by the authority in carrying out works so approved—

(a) may be deducted by the authority out of the balances which they are liable to pay to the dispossessed proprietor under paragraph 18, and

(b) so far as not so deducted, is a charge on the premises and on all estates and interests in the premises;

and the premises subject to the charge include any part of the premises which was excluded from the provisions of the order under section 380 (modification of order where proprietor resides in part of the house).

(4) The charge takes effect as from the date when the control order is revoked and the expenditure so charged carries interest from that date at such reasonable rate as the authority may determine.

(5) The local housing authority have for the purposes of enforcing the charge all the same powers and remedies, under the M1 Law of Property Act 1925 and otherwise, as if they were mortgagees by deed having powers of sale and lease, of accepting surrenders of leases and of appointing a receiver.

(6) The power of appointing a receiver is exercisable at any time after the expiration of one month from the date when the charge takes effect.

Marginal Citations

M1 1925 c. 20.