Housing Act 1985

[F1 96 Right to have repairs carried out. E+W

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations for entitling secure tenants whose landlords are local housing authorities, subject to and in accordance with the regulations, to have qualifying repairs carried out, at their landlords’ expense, to the dwelling-houses of which they are such tenants.

(2) The regulations may make all or any of the following provisions, namely—

(a) provision that, where a secure tenant makes an application to his landlord for a qualifying repair to be carried out, the landlord shall issue a repair notice—

(i) specifying the nature of the repair, the listed contractor by whom the repair is to be carried out and the last day of any prescribed period; and

(ii) containing such other particulars as may be prescribed;

(b) provision that, if the contractor specified in a repair notice fails to carry out the repair within a prescribed period, the landlord shall issue a further repair notice specifying such other listed contractor as the tenant may require; and

(c) provision that, if the contractor specified in a repair notice fails to carry out the repair within a prescribed period, the landlord shall pay to the tenant such sum by way of compensation as may be determined by or under the regulations.

(3) The regulations may also make such procedural, incidental, supplementary and transitional provisions as may appear to the Secretary of State necessary or expedient, and may in particular—

(a) require a landlord to take such steps as may be prescribed to make its secure tenants aware of the provisions of the regulations;

(b) require a landlord to maintain a list of contractors who are prepared to carry out repairs for which it is responsible under the regulations;

(c) provide that, where a landlord issues a repair notice, it shall give to the tenant a copy of the notice and the prescribed particulars of at least two other listed contractors who are competent to carry out the repair;

(d) provide for questions arising under the regulations to be determined by the county court; and

(e) enable the landlord to set off against any compensation payable under the regulations any sums owed to it by the tenant.

(4) Nothing in subsection (2) or (3) shall be taken as prejudicing the generality of subsection (1).

(5) Regulations under this section—

(a) may make different provision with respect to different cases or descriptions of case, including different provision for different areas, and

(b) shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(6) In this section—

• “listed contractor”, in relation to a landlord, means any contractor (which may include the landlord) who is specified in the landlord’s list of contractors;

• “qualifying repair”, in relation to a dwelling-house, means any repair of a prescribed description which the landlord is obliged by a repairing covenant to carry out;

• “repairing covenant”, in relation to a dwelling-house, means a covenant, whether express or implied, obliging the landlord to keep in repair the dwelling-house or any part of the dwelling-house;

and for the purposes of this subsection a prescribed description may be framed by reference to any circumstances whatever.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 96 substituted (1.12.1993) by 1993 c. 28, s. 121; S.I. 1993/2762, art. 4(a) (with saving in art. 5(1)).

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 96 extended (1.10.1996) by 1996 c. 52, s. 135; S.I. 1996/2402, art. 3 (subject to transitional provisions and savings in Sch.)