Local Government and Housing Act 1989

105 Common parts grants: preliminary conditions

(1) A local housing authority may not entertain an application for a common parts grant unless they are satisfied—

(a) that, at the date of the application, at least the required proportion of the flats in the building concerned is occupied by occupying tenants; and

(b) that the application is either a landlord’s common parts application or a tenants' common parts application.

(2) In this Part—

(a) an “occupying tenant”, in relation to a flat in a building, is a person—

(i) who has (alone or jointly with others) such an interest in the flat as is mentioned in any of paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (4) below; and

(ii) who occupies the flat as his only or main residence;

(b) a “landlord’s common parts application”, in relation to works to the common parts of a building, is an application for a common parts grant made by a person who—

(i) has (alone or jointly with others) such an interest in the building as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (4) below; and

(ii) has a duty or power to carry out the relevant works; and

(c) a “tenants' common parts application”, in relation to works to the common parts of a building, is an application for a common parts grant made, subject to subsection (3) below, by at least three-quarters of the occupying tenants of the building who, under their tenancies, have a duty to carry out, or to make a contribution in respect of the carrying out of, some or all of the relevant works;

and in any case where a tenancy is held by two or more persons jointly, those persons shall be regarded as a single occupying tenant in deciding, for the purposes of paragraph (c) above, whether the application is made by at least three-quarters of the occupying tenants referred to in that paragraph.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection (2) above, a tenant whose tenancy is of a description specified for the purpose of that paragraph by an order made by the Secretary of State shall be treated as an occupying tenant falling within that paragraph; and a person who falls within paragraph (b)(i) of that subsection and has a duty or power to carry out any of the relevant works may also join in a tenants' common parts application; and, where such a person does join in an application, he is in this Part referred to as a “participating landlord”.

(4) The interests referred to in subsection (2) above are as follows—

(a) an estate in fee simple absolute in possession;

(b) a term of years absolute of which not less than five years remain unexpired at the date of the application;

(c) a tenancy to which section 1 of the [1954 c. 56.] Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 or Schedule 10 to this Act applies (long tenancies at low rents);

(d) an assured tenancy, a protected tenancy, a secure tenancy, a protected occupancy or a statutory tenancy; and

(e) a tenancy which satisfies such conditions as may be prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.

(5) The required proportion mentioned in subsection (1) above is three-quarters or such other proportion as may be—

(a) prescribed for the purposes of this section by an order made by the Secretary of State; or

(b) approved by him, in relation to a particular case or description of case, on application made by the local housing authority concerned.