Housing Associations Act 1985

4 Eligibility for registration. E+W+S

(1) A housing association is eligible for registration if it is—

(a) a registered charity, or

(b) a society registered under the 1965 Act which fulfils the following conditions.

(2) The conditions are that the association does not trade for profit and is established for the purpose of, or has among its objects or powers, the provision, construction, improvement or management of—

(a) houses to be kept available for letting, or

(b) houses for occupation by members of the association, where the rules of the association restrict membership to persons entitled or prospectively entitled (as tenants or otherwise) to occupy a house provided or managed by the association, or

(c) hostels,

and that any additional purposes or objects are among the following.

[F1 (3) The permissible additional purposes or objects are—

(a) providing land, amenities or services, or providing, constructing, repairing or improving buildings, for the benefit of the association’s residents, either exclusively or together with other persons;

(b) acquiring, or repairing and improving, or creating by the conversion of houses or other property, houses to be disposed of on sale, on lease or on shared ownership terms;

(c) constructing houses to be disposed of on shared ownership terms;

(d) managing houses which are held on leases or other lettings (not being houses falling within subsection (2)(a) or (b) ) or blocks of flats;

(e) providing services of any description for owners or occupiers of houses in arranging or carrying out works of maintenance, repair or improvement, or encouraging or facilitating the carrying out of such works;

(f) encouraging and giving advice on the formation of other housing associations or providing services for, and giving advice on the running of, such associations and other voluntary organisations concerned with housing, or matters connected with housing.

(4) A housing association shall not be ineligible for registration by reason only that its powers include power—

(a) to acquire commercial premises or businesses as an incidental part of a project or series of projects undertaken for purposes or objects falling within subsection (2) or (3);

(b) to repair, improve or convert any commercial premises acquired as mentioned in paragraph (a) or to carry on, for a limited period, any business so acquired;

(c) to repair or improve houses, or buildings in which houses are situated, after the tenants have exercised, or claimed to exercise, acquisition rights;

(d) to acquire houses to be disposed of at a discount to tenants to whom section 58 of the Housing Act 1988 applies (tenants of charitable housing associations etc.).

(5) In this section—

• “acquisition right”means—

(a) in England and Wales, the right to buy or the right to be granted a shared ownership lease under Part V of the Housing Act 1985;

(b) in Scotland, a right to purchase under section 61 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987;

• “block of flats”means a building—

(a) containing two or more flats which are held on leases or other lettings; and

(b) occupied or intended to be occupied wholly or mainly for residential purposes;

• “disposed of on shared ownership terms”means—

(a) in England and Wales, disposed of on a sharedownership lease;

(b) in Scotland, disposed of under a shared ownership agreement;

• “letting”includes the grant—

(a) in England and Wales, of a licence to occupy;

(b) in Scotland, of a right or permission to occupy;

• “residents”, in relation to a housing association, means the persons occupying the houses or hostels provided or managed by the association;

• “voluntary organisation” means an organisation whose activities are not carried on for profit.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 4(3)–(5) substituted for s. 4(3)(4) (s. 4(4) having been inserted by Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (c. 31, SIF 75:1), s. 45(3) which section 45 was subsequently repealed by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 61), s. 140(2), Sch. 18) by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 61) s. 48(1)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Ss. 4, 8 modified by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 61), s. 58(3)(4)