Housing Act, 1970

"(vi) on or after the 13th day of June, 1969, for the accommodation of key workers of a class specified by the Minister and necessarily brought into an area for new or expanding industry."

Increase of certain limits.

6.—Article 2 of the Third Schedule to the Act of 1966 is hereby amended by the substitution of "two thousand pounds" for "five hundred pounds" in paragraph (a), paragraph (b), paragraph (c) and paragraph (h) and the substitution of "five thousand pounds" for "twelve hundred pounds" in paragraph (g).

Making of supplementary grants (borough or urban district) by county council.

7.—(1) In this section "relevant section" means any of the following sections: section 26 (exclusive of subsections (7) and (8)), section 27, section 28 and section 29 of the Act of 1966.

(2) References in a relevant section to the housing authority shall, in the application of the section to a borough (not being a borough designated by the Minister by regulations as excluded with respect to the section from the application to this paragraph), be taken as not referring to the corporation of the borough and as referring instead the council of the county in which the borough is situate.

(3) ( a ) References in a relevant section to the housing authority shall in the application of the section to an urban district (not being an urban district designated by the Minister by regulations as excluded with respect to the section from the application of this paragraph), be taken as not referring to the council of the urban district and as referring instead to the council of the county in which the urban district is situate.

( b ) Where—

(i) under an agreement made between the council of a county and the council of an urban district on or after the 13th day of June, 1969, and before the passing of this Act a grant was made by the council of the county, and

(ii) apart from the agreement, the grant would have fallen to be made under a relevant section by the council of the urban district, the following provisions shall have effect:

(I) the grant shall be as valid as if, when it was made, paragraph (a) of this subsection was in operation, and the urban district stood not designated by the Minister by regulations as excluded with respect to the relevant section from the application of that paragraph,

(II) subsection (4) of this section shall apply and be deemed always to have applied for the purpose of enabling the expenses of the council of the county in relation to the grant to be charged.

(4) The following provisions shall apply with respect to the expenses under a relevant section of a housing authority who are the council of a county:

( a ) in the case of a county with respect to which paragraph (a) of section 8 of the Act of 1966 applies, the exclusion of boroughs and urban districts contained in that paragraph shall be taken as not extending to any borough which stands not designated by regulations under subsection (2) of this section as excluded with respect to the relevant section or to any urban district which stands not designated by regulations under subsection (3) of this section as so excluded,

( b ) in the case of a county with respect to which paragraph (b) of the said section 8 applies and which includes an area or areas in relation to which this paragraph applies—

(i) there shall firstly be taken each area in the county consisting of an area or areas in relation to which this paragraph applies and the rural sanitary area adjoining it or them and the expenses under the relevant section in respect of that combined area shall be charged on it,

(ii) other expenses under the relevant section shall be charged as provided for by paragraph (b) (i) of section 8 of the Act of 1966.

In this paragraph "area in relation to which this paragraph applies" means an area consisting of—

(i) a borough standing not designated by regulations under subsection (2) of this section as excluded with respect to the relevant section or,

(ii) an urban district standing not designated by regulations under subsection (3) of this section as so excluded.

Validity of certain grants.

8.—(1) If, before the passing of this Act, any grant under section 16 of the Act of 1966, was, in a case in which there was compliance with the requirements of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of that section, made in contravention of that section because the house was not provided in a rural area, the fact that the grant was so made shall not affect, and shall be deemed never to have affected, the validity of the making of the grant.

(2) If, before the passing of this Act, any grant under section 29 of the Act of 1966 was made in contravention of subsection (4) of that section, the fact that the grant was so made shall not affect, and shall be deemed never to have affected, the validity of the making of the grant.

Amendment of section 17 (1) of Act of 1966.

9.—Section 17 (1) of the Act of 1966 is hereby amended by the addition of the following proviso:

"Provided that in a case in which the erection of the house commenced or commences on or after the 31st day of December, 1970, a grant under this section shall not be made unless a notice of approval for the purposes of this section was issued by the Minister in respect of the house before that day."

Amendment of section 26 of Act of 1966.

10.—(1) Subsection (1) of section 26 of the Act of 1966 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

" ( b ) the total, determined by the housing authority, of the income of the person and the income of his spouse (if any) does not exceed the appropriate limit, that is to say:

(i) in case the supplementary grant is made in respect of a house the erection of which commenced before the 1st day of August, 1970 — one thousand and forty-five pounds per annum,

(ii) in case it is made in respect of a house the erection of which commenced on or after the 1st day of August, 1970, and before the coming into operation of the first regulations made pursuant to the next subparagraph — one thousand two hundred and fifty pounds per annum, and

(iii) in any other case — the limit for the time being specified by the Minister, by regulations made with the consent of the Minister for Finance, as the appropriate limit for the purposes of this paragraph."

(2) The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (2) of section 26 of the Act of 1966:

"(2) A housing, authority, in determining the income of a person applying for a grant under this section or of his spouse, may, if the person satisfies the authority that he or his spouse maintains at his or her own expense a dependent person, make such allowance as they think fit, subject to the appropriate limit, that is to say:

( a ) in case the supplementary grant is made in respect of a house the erection of which commenced before the coming into operation of the first regulations made pursuant to the next paragraph — one hundred pounds in respect of each person so maintained, or four hundred pounds in the aggregate, whichever is the less, and

( b ) in any other case — the limit for the time being specified by the Minister, by regulations made with the consent of the Minister for Finance, as the appropriate limit for the purposes of this subsection."

Amendment of sections 29 (1), 30 and 31 (1) of Act of 1966.

11.—Sections 29 (1), 30 and 31 (1) of the Act of 1966 are each hereby amended by the insertion of ", whether the grant has been paid in whole or in part," after "housing authority may".

Amendment of section 33 of Act of 1966.

12.—(1) Section 33 (1) of the Act of 1966 is hereby amended by the insertion before "or in case a grant is made" of "or under section 5 (2) of the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited (Amendment) Act 1963 (the case being one in which the house in respect of which the grant under the said section 5 (2) is made is completed after the 31st day of March, 1969), or in case a house is erected by the Land Commission, or with the aid of a grant from the Land Commission, in pursuance of section 12 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, as extended by section 22 of the Land Act, 1927 (the case being one in which the house is completed after the 31st day of March, 1969, and the total area of all its floors satisfies the requirements, in the case of a house the erection of which commenced before the 1st day of October, 1969, of section 15 (1) (a), in the case of a house the erection of which commenced on or after the 1st day of October, 1969, and on or before the 31st day of December, 1970, of section 15 (4) (b) or, in the case of a house the erection of which commenced after the 31st day of December, 1970, of section 15 (6) (b) of this Act)," and by the insertion before "to which the grant relates" of "erected by the Land Commission or".

(2) Section 33 (4) of the Act of 1966 is hereby amended by the insertion before "the valuation of the tenement" of "or in case a house is reconstructed by the Land Commission, or with the aid of a grant from the Land Commission, in pursuance of section 12 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, as extended by section 22 of the Land Act, 1927 (the case being one in which the reconstruction is completed after the 31st day of March, 1969), or in case a grant, for the reconstruction (completed after the 31st day of March, 1969) of a house, is made by Bord Fáilte Éireann pursuant to a scheme for development of supplementary holiday accommodation," and by the insertion before "to which any such grant relates" of "reconstructed by the Land Commission or".

(3) Section 33 (5) of the Act of 1966 is hereby amended by the addition of the following paragraph:

"( f ) in relation to a house reconstructed by, or with the aid of a grant from, the Land Commission or to a grant, for the reconstruction of a house, by Bord Fáilte Éireann — the reconstruction."

(4) A housing authority shall make any refunds which become appropriate in consequence of the amendments effected by this section.

Amendment of section 62 of Act of 1966.

13.—(1) Subsection (4) of section 62 of the Act of 1966 is hereby amended by the insertion after "sections 86, 87 and 88 of the Act of 1860" of "(subject, in the case of the said section 86, to the substitution of 'of one month' for 'to be therein named, and not less than seven or more than fourteen clear days from the date of such warrant' and the substitution of 'eight in the morning and eight in the afternoon' for 'nine in the morning and four in the afternoon')".

(2) The following subsection is hereby added to section 62 of the Act of 1966:

"(7) If, in a case in which there is no tenancy in a dwelling provided by a housing authority under this Act, a person makes an entry into the dwelling, or uses it for human habitation, without the consent of the housing authority, such person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or, at the discretion of the court, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one month or to both such fine and imprisonment, provided that this subsection shall not apply in relation to a person who, at the time when the tenancy last created in the dwelling was terminated or otherwise ceased to exist, was ordinarily resident in the dwelling or to a person making an entry into the dwelling for the purposes of normal social relations with such persons or to a person making an entry into the dwelling (but not using it for human habitation) in the course of his ordinary business, profession, vocation or trade."

Repeal.

14.—Subsection (4) of section 29 of the Act of 1966 is hereby repealed.

Short title, construction and collective citation.

15.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Housing Act, 1970 .

(2) This Act and the Housing Acts, 1966 and 1969, shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1970.

Sections 2, 3, 4.

SCHEDULE

SUBSECTIONS ADDED TO SECTIONS 15, 16 AND 18 OF ACT OF 1966

PART I

SUBSECTIONS ADDED TO SECTION 15

(3) Grants under subsection (1) of this section shall not be made on or after the 1st day of October, 1969, save in respect of houses the erection of which commenced before that day, and subsection (2) of this section shall accordingly apply in relation to those houses only.

(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to a person providing one or more than one house in respect of which a grant under any enactment (including this Act) has not been made, a grant of such amount as may be appropriate having regard to subsection (5) of this section if, but only if—

( a ) the commencement of the erection of the house or each house occurs on or after the 1st day of October, 1969, and on or before the 31st day of December, 1970,

( b ) the total area of all the floors of the house or each house when measured in the prescribed manner is neither less than three hundred and fifty square feet nor more than—

(i) in the case of a house in which sewerage facilities and a piped water supply are installed, fifteen hundred square feet,

(ii) in any other case, fourteen hundred square feet, and

( c ) in case the house or each house is provided by a public utility society, the first occupier of the house or each house is a member of the society who occupies it as his normal place of residence.

(5) A grant under subsection (4) of this section in respect of a house shall not exceed the appropriate amount specified in the Table hereunder:

TABLE

AMOUNT OF GRANT

Person to whom grant may be made by Minister under subsection (4) of this section	Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply cannot reasonably be provided				Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply are provided
	Total area in square feet of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner				Total area in square feet of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner
350 or more, but less than 500	500 or more, but less than 800	800 or more, but less than 1,050	1,050 or more, but not exceed-ing 1,400	350 or more, but less than 500	500 or more, but less than 800	800 or more, but less than 1,050	1,050 or more, but less than 1,250	1,250 or more, but not exceed-ing 1,500
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Person (other than a public utility society) providing house	100	175	250	225	175	250	325	300	275
Public utility society providing house	110	185	260	235	185	260	335	310	285

(6) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to a person providing one or more than one house in respect of which a grant under any enactment (including this Act) has not been made, a grant of such amount as may be appropriate having regard to subsection (7) of this section if, but only if—

( a ) the commencement of the erection of the house or each house occurs after the 31st day of December, 1970,

( b ) the total area of all the floors of the house or each house when measured in the prescribed manner is neither less than thirty-five square metres nor more than one hundred and sixteen square metres, and

subject to the proviso that a grant shall not be made in respect of a house the use of which will, in the opinion of the Minister, be other than as a normal place of residence.

(7) A grant under subsection (6) of this section in respect of a house shall not exceed the appropriate amount specified in the Table hereunder:

TABLE

AMOUNT OF GRANT

Person to whom grant may be made by Minister under subsection (6) of this section	Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply cannot reasonably be provided				Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply are provided
	Total area in square metres of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner				Total area in square metres of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner
35 or more, but less than 45	45 or more, but less than 75	75 or more, but less than 100	100 or more, but not exceeding 116	35 or more, but less than 45	45 or more, but less than 75	75 or more, but less than 100	100 or more, but not exceeding 116
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Person (other than a public utility society) providing house	100	175	250	225	175	250	325	300
Public utility society providing house	110	185	260	235	185	260	335	310

PART II

SUBSECTIONS ADDED TO SECTION 16

(5) ( a ) Subsection (1) of this section shall have effect, in a case in which there has been compliance with paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section, as if "in a rural area" were deleted.

( b ) Grants under subsection (1) of this section shall not be made on or after the 1st day of October, 1969, save in respect of houses the erection of which commenced before that day, and subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section shall accordingly apply in relation to those houses only.

(6) Subject to subsection (10) of this section, the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to a person providing (in a case in which there is compliance with the requirements of paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of this section) in any area or (in any other case) in a rural area, a house in respect of which a grant under any enactment (including this Act) has not been made, a grant of such amount as may be appropriate having regard to subsection (7) of this section if, but only if—

( a ) the commencement of the erection of the house occurs on or after the 1st day of October, 1969, and on or before the 31st day of December, 1970,

( b ) the total area of all the floors of the house when measured in the prescribed manner is neither less than three hundred and fifty square feet nor more than—

(i) in the case of a house in which sewerage facilities and a piped water supply are installed, fifteen hundred square feet,

(ii) in any other case, fourteen hundred square feet,

( c ) the house is erected on a site other than a site in relation to which a contribution has been made by the Minister under section 44, 45 or 47 of this Act, and

( d ) the house is occupied by the person as his normal place of residence or, in case the house is provided by a public utility society, the first occupier of the house is a member of the society who occupies it as his normal place of residence.

(7) A grant under subsection (6) of this section shall not exceed the appropriate amount specified in the Table hereunder:

TABLE

AMOUNT OF GRANT

Person to whom grant may be made by Minister under subsection (6) of this section	Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply cannot reasonably be provided			Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply are provided
	Total area in square feet of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner			Total area in square feet of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner
350 or more, but less than 500	500 or more, but less than 800	800 or more, but not exceeding 1,400	350 or more, but less than 500	500 or more, but less than 800	800 or more, but not exceeding 1,500
	£	£	£	£	£	£
1. Person (other than a public utility society) providing a house:
where the rateable valuation or the aggregate of the rateable valuations of the land and buildings occupied by the person—
( a ) does not exceed £25	150	300	375	225	375	450
( b ) exceeds £25 but does not exceed £40	125	250	325	200	325	400
( c ) exceeds £40 but does not exceed £60	100	200	275	175	275	350
2. Public utility society providing a house of which the first occupier is a member of the society:
where the rateable valuation or the aggregate of the rateable valuations of the land and buildings occupied by the said first occupier—
( a ) does not exceed £25	160	310	385	235	385	460
( b ) exceeds £25 but does not exceed £40	135	260	335	210	335	410
( c ) exceeds £40 but does not exceed £60	110	210	285	185	285	360

(8) Subject to subsection (10) of this section, the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to a person providing (in a case in which there is compliance with the requirements of paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of this section) in any area or (in any other case) in a rural area, a house in respect of which a grant under any enactment (including this Act) has not been made, a grant of such amount as may be appropriate having regard to subsection (9) of this section if, but only if—

( a ) the commencement of the erection of the house occurs after the 31st day of December, 1970,

( b ) the total area of all the floors of the house when measured in the prescribed manner is neither less than thirty-five square metres nor more than one hundred and sixteen square metres,

( c ) the house is erected on a site other than a site in relation to which a contribution has been made by the Minister under section 44, 45 or 47 of this Act, and

(9) A grant under subsection (8) of this section shall not exceed the appropriate amount specified in the Table hereunder:

TABLE

AMOUNT OF GRANT

Person to whom grant may be made by Minister under subsection (8) of this section	Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply cannot reasonably be provided			Where sewerage facilities and piped water supply are provided
	Total area in square metres of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner			Total area in square metres of all floors of house when measured in prescribed manner
35 or more, but less than 45	45 or more, but less than 75	75 or more, but not exceeding 116	35 or more, but less than 45	45 or more, but less than 75	75 or more, but not exceeding 116
	£	£	£	£	£	£
1. Person (other than a public utility society) providing a house:
where the rateable valuation or the aggregate of the rateable valuations of the land and buildings occupied by the person-
(a) does not exceed £25	150	300	375	225	375	450
(b) exceeds £25 but does not exceed £40.	125	250	325	200	325	400
(c) exceeds £40 but does not exceed £60	100	200	275	175	275	350
2. Public utility society providing a house of which the first occupier is a member of the society:
where the rateable valuation or the aggregate of the rateable valuations of the land and buildings occupied by the said first occupier-
(a) does not exceed £25	160	310	385	235	385	460
(b) exceeds £25 but does not exceed £40	135	260	335	210	335	410
(c) exceeds £40 but does not exceed £60	110	210	285	185	285	360

(10) Grants under subsection (6) or subsection (8) of this section shall be made only if, in the opinion of the Minister, the person providing the house or, in case the house is provided by a public utility society, the first occupier of the house complies with the requirements of either paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this subsection, namely, that:

( a ) the said person or occupier is in need of housing and derives his livelihood solely or mainly from the pursuit of agriculture and the rateable valuation, or the aggregate of the rateable valuations, of the land (if any) and buildings occupied by him does not exceed sixty pounds,

( b ) the said person or occupier is ordinarily resident in a rural area and either so resides in an overcrowded house or in a house unfit for human habitation, or is in need of housing on medical, compassionate or other similar grounds and the circumstances of the person or occupier are such that he could not provide a house for his own occupation without the aid of a grant under this section.

PART III

SUBSECTIONS ADDED TO SECTION 18

(4) Grants under subsection (1) of this section shall not be made on or after the 1st day of October, 1969, save in respect of buildings the erection of which commenced before that day, and subsection (2) of this section shall accordingly apply in relation to those buildings only.

(5) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to a person in respect of the erection of separate, self-contained flats or maisonettes in a building, a grant of such amount as may be appropriate having regard to subsection (6) of this section, if, but only if—

( a ) the commencement of the erection of the building occurs on or after the 1st day of October, 1969, and on or before the 31st day of December, 1970,

( b ) the total area of all the floors of the flat or maisonette, as the case may be, when measured in the prescribed manner, is neither less than two hundred and fifty square feet, nor more than fifteen hundred square feet.

(6) A grant under subsection (5) of this section shall not in relation to each flat or maisonette exceed the appropriate amount specified in the Table hereunder:

TABLE

AMOUNT OF GRANT

	Total area in square feet of all floors of flat or maisonette when measured in prescribed manner
Description of flat or maisonette	250 or more, but less than 500	500 or more, but less than 800	800 or more, but less than 1,050	1,050 or more, but less than 1,250	1,250 or more, but less than exceeding 1,500
	£	£	£	£	£
1. A separate, self-contained flat or maisonette in a building of six or more storeys in which a lift is installed.	225	300	375	350	325
2. A separate, self-contained flat or maisonette in a building of less than six storeys	175	250	325	300	275

(7) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to a person in respect of the erection of separate, self contained flats or maisonettes in a building, a grant of such amount as may be appropriate having regard to subsection (8) of this section, if, but only if—

( a ) the commencement of the erection of the building occurs after the 31st day of December, 1970, and

( b ) the total area of all the floors of the flat or maisonette, as the case may be, when measured in the prescribed manner, is neither less than twenty-five square metres nor more than one hundred and sixteen square metres,

subject to the proviso that a grant shall not be made in respect of a flat or maisonette the use of which will, in the opinion of the Minister, be other than as a normal place of residence.

(8) A grant under subsection (7) of this section shall not in relation to each flat or maisonette exceed the appropriate amount specified in the Table hereunder:

TABLE

AMOUNT OF GRANT

	Total area in square metres of all floors of flat or maisonette when measured in prescribed manner
Description of flat or maisonette	25 or more, but less than 45	45 or more, but less than 75	75 or more, but less than 100	100 or more, but not exceeding 116
	£	£	£	£
1. A separate, self-contained flat or maisonette in a building of six or more storeys in which a lift is installed	225	300	375	350
2. A separate, self-contained flat or maisonette in a building of less than six storeys	175	250	325	300

Irish Legislation

Housing Act, 1970