Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972

Introductory

1 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, an authority may pay a rebate or allowance at any time and in any manner that they think fit.

(2) Where in the case of a rental period exceeding one month a local authority—

(a) receive an application for a rebate or allowance ; or

(b) determine under paragraph 5 or 6 below that the rebate period or allowance period shall terminate ; or

(c) determine under paragraph 5 or 6 below that the rebate or allowance shall be altered; or

(d) receive an application for a further rebate or allowance under paragraph 10 below,

the provisions of this Schedule shall have effect as if any reference to a rental period were a reference to a period of one month and as if the rental period had always been one month since the commencement of the rental period.

(3) Where an authority for administrative convenience arrange for the year's rent to be paid irregularly, or so that no rent is payable for or collected in certain periods, or so that rent for different periods in the year is of different amounts, the provisions of this Schedule shall be applied, and all calculations shall be made, by reference to the rent which would have been paid if the arrangements had not been made.

(4) Where—

(a) a house to which a local authority's housing revenue account relates or a development corporation house or a Scottish Special Housing Association house is let to one of two spouses, or one of two spouses is a private tenant, and

(b) the house is not occupied by the tenant, and

(c) the other spouse is in occupation of the house and has paid the rent in respect of any rental period,

the authority may, if in their opinion it is reasonable to do so, treat the spouse who has paid the rent as the tenant for the purposes of this Schedule and grant a rebate, or, as the case may be, an allowance accordingly.

(5) In the following provisions of this Schedule " tenant " includes, subject to paragraph 16(6) below, a person treated as a tenant under this paragraph or paragraph 4 or 5 of Schedule 2 above.

(6) In this paragraph " spouse " has the same meaning as in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to this Act except that it includes a spouse living apart, but otherwise in this Schedule " spouse " has the same meaning as in the said paragraph 2.