PART IV SUB-STANDARD HOUSES
Improvement order
88 Improvement of houses below tolerable standard outside housing action areas.
1
Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where a local authority are satisfied that a house which is not situated in a housing action area does not meet the tolerable standard, they may by order require the owner of the house within a period of 180 days of the making of the order to improve the house by executing works—
a
to bring it up to the tolerable standard; and
b
to put it into a good state of repair;
and where the local authority are satisfied that the house has a future life of not less than 10 years, they may in addition require the execution of such further works of improvement as to ensure that the house will be provided with all of the standard amenities within that period.
2
In subsection (1), reference to a house which does not meet the tolerable standard includes a reference to a house which does not have a fixed bath or shower and reference to executing works to bring it up to the tolerable standard includes reference to installing a fixed bath or shower.
3
If the works of improvement required by an order under subsection (1) have not been completed within the said period of 180 days, the local authority may if—
a
they consider that satisfactory progress has been made on the works, or
b
they are given an undertaking in writing that the works will be completed by a date which they consider satisfactory,
amend the order to require the works to be completed within such further period as they may determine.
4
If the works of improvement have not been completed within the period of 180 days or, as the case may be, the further period determined under subsection (3), the local authority, in order that they themselves may carry out the works required by the order under subsection (1), may acquire the house by agreement or may be authorised by the Secretary of State to acquire the house compulsorily; and the M1Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947 shall apply in relation to any such compulsory purchase as if this Act had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act.
5
Paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 118(1) (persons upon whom closing and demolition orders are to be served) shall apply to orders under this section as they apply to orders under that section.
6
Section 129 (appeals) shall apply to enable an aggrieved person to appeal against an order under this section as it applies to enable an aggrieved person to appeal against a closing order.
7
A local authority shall make an improvement grant in accordance with Part XIII towards meeting the cost of the works which are required in pursuance of this section.
8
The owner of the house in respect of which improvement works are required under this section may apply to the local authority for a loan to meet the cost of the works in so far as they are not met by a grant made under subsection (7); and subsections (2) to (9) of section 217 shall apply for the purposes of this subsection as they apply for the purposes of subsection (1) of that section.