Housing (Scotland) Act 1987

6 (1) A sheriff who revokes a control order on appeal may authorise the local authority to create under section 179(2) interests which expire, or which the dispossessed properietor can terminate, within 6 months from the time when the control order ceases to have effect, being interests which, notwithstanding subsection (3) of section 179, are for a fixed term exceeding one month, or are terminable by notice to quit (or an equivalent notice) of more than 4 weeks. S

(2) The sheriff shall take into consideration whether the state or condition of the house is such that any action ought to be taken by the local authority under the provisions of Part VIII (other than those relating to control orders) and shall take all or any of the following steps accordingly, that is to say—

(a) approve the making of an order under section 157;

(b) approve the giving of a notice under section 160 or section 161 or section 162; or

(c) approve the giving of a direction under section 166;

and no appeal against any order or notice so approved shall lie under section 158 or section 163.

(3) In respect of the period from the coming into force of the control order until its revocation by the sheriff, the local authority shall, subject to this paragraph, be liable to pay to the dispossessed proprietor the balances which from time to time accrued to the authority out of the net amount of the rent and other payments received by the authority while the control order was in force from persons occupying the house after deducting—

(a) compensation payable by the local authority under section 181 and section 183, and

(b) all expenditure, other than capital expenditure, incurred by the local authority in respect of the house while the control order was in force, together with the appropriate establishment charges.

(4) If the sheriff is satisfied that the balances which the local authority are, under sub-paragraph (3), liable to pay to the dispossessed proprietor are unduly low for any reason within the control of the authority, having regard to the desirability of observing the standards of management contained in regulations made under section 156 and to 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 sheriff shall direct that, for the purposes of the authority’s liability to the dispossessed proprietor under this paragraph, the balances under sub-paragraph (3) shall be deemed to be such greater sums as the sheriff may direct:

Provided that the sheriff shall not under this sub-paragraph give a direction which will afford to the dispossessed proprietor a sum greater than what he may, in the opinion of the sheriff, have lost by the making of the control order.

(5) If different persons are dispossessed proprietors in relation to different parts of the house, sums payable under this paragraph by the local authority shall be apportioned between them in the manner provided by section 183(5).

(6) For the purpose of enabling the local authority to recover capital expenditure incurred by them in carrying out works in the house in the period before the control order is revoked, the authority may on the hearing of the appeal apply to the sheriff for approval of those works on the ground that they were works which, if a control order had not been in force, the authority could have required some other person to carry out under the foregoing provisions of Part VIII (other than those relating to control orders), or under any other enactment relating to housing or public health, and that the carrying out of the works could not be postponed until after the determination of the appeal because the works were urgently required for the sake of the safety, welfare or health of the persons living in the house, or other persons.

(7) Any expenditure reasonably incurred by the local authority in carrying out works approved under sub-paragraph (6)—

(a) may be deducted by the local authority out of the balances which the authority are, under sub-paragraph (3), liable to pay to the dispossessed proprietor;

(b) so far as not so deducted, shall be recoverable from the dispossessed proprietor.

(8) Any expenditure recoverable by the local authority from the dispossessed proprietor by virtue of sub-paragraph (7)(b) shall carry interest at such reasonable rate as the local authority may determine from the date when the control order is revoked; and sub-paragraphs (6) to (8) of paragraph 2 shall, with any necessary modifications, apply for the purpose of enabling the authority to recover any such expenditure.