S.I. No. 362/1988:

HOUSING (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1988.

HOUSING (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1988.

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 5 of the Housing Act, 1966 (No. 21 of 1966) and by sections 10 , 14 , 15 and 16 of the Housing Act, 1988 (No. 28 of 1988), with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations, 1988.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1989.

2. (1) In these Regulations--

"the Act of 1966" means the Housing Act, 1966 ;

"the Act of 1988" means the Housing Act, 1988 ;

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment.

(2) In these Regulations, any reference

(a) to a section which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a section of the Act of 1988; and

(b) to a sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a sub-article of the article in which the reference occurs.

3. Recoupment to a housing authority under section 10 (4) shall not exceed 80 per cent. of the payments reasonably made by the authority by virtue of section 10 (1).

4. (1) The amount of a grant payable by the Minister under section 14 in respect of the provision of sites for private housing shall not exceed--

(a) in the case of an undeveloped site, £1,000 or two-thirds of the estimated cost of providing the site, whichever is the lesser,

(b) in the case of a developed site, £1,000 or one-third of the estimated cost of providing the site, whichever is the lesser.

(2) It shall be a condition of payment to a housing authority of a grant under section 14 that--

(a) where applicable, work on the development of the sites shall be carried out and completed in a proper and workmanlike manner in accordance with such standards and conditions as may be specified by the Minister either generally or in particular cases, and

(b) such sites sold, leased or exchanged by the authority under section 88 of the Act of 1966, shall be sold, leased or exchanged--

(i) for the best price and on the best terms reasonably obtainable less the amount of the grant payable in accordance with this article, or

(ii) with the consent of the Minister where, having regard to the amount of the said grant, the price and terms are not the best reasonably obtainable.

5. (1) A grant by the Minister to a housing authority under section 15 shall not exceed the cost approved by the Minister, or, as the Minister may determine, such portion of such cost, of--

(a) the provision of dwellings (including houses, flats, maisonettes and hostels) by the authority;

(b) the improvement or reconstruction of dwellings provided by the authority;

(c) the provision or improvement by the authority of sites for caravans;

(d) the acquisition of land for the provision of dwellings or sites referred to in this sub-article; or

(e) the carrying out of ancillary works in connection with the provision or improvement of such dwellings or sites.

(2) A grant by the Minister to a housing authority under section 15 in respect of the provision of assistance under section 5 to an approved body shall not exceed the lesser of £20,000 per unit of accommodation or an amount equal to--

(a) ninety-five per cent. of the cost, as approved by the housing authority, of the provision of accommodation for persons regarded by the authority as being homeless for the purposes of the Act of 1988, or

(b) eighty per cent. of the cost, as approved by the housing authority, of the provision of accommodation where the authority is satisfied that at least 75 per cent. of the units of accommodation will be let to--

(i) elderly persons;

(ii) persons who are physically handicapped or suffering from mental handicap or from mental illness;

(iii) persons who are victims of family violence or desertion; or

(iv) families comprising one parent and one or more children or families whom the authority have reason to believe require, or are likely to require, accommodation from the authority,

and such persons or families are, in the opinion of the authority, in need of housing and are unable to provide it from their own resources.

(3) A grant may be paid under section 15 in respect of the provision by the approved body, within the precincts of accommodation provided for the categories of persons referred to in sub-article (2), of accommodation for use as his normal place of residence by a person providing welfare or caretaker services for those persons.

(4) It shall be a condition of the payment of a grant under section 15 that--

(a) the provision, improvement, reconstruction, acquisition or carrying out of works, as the case may be, by the housing authority, shall be subject to such cost and financial controls and, where appropriate, in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Minister and be carried out and completed in a proper and workmanlike manner;

(b) dwellings let by the authority on a tenancy for a month or a lesser period than a month--

(i) shall, in the case of dwellings let after the coming into operation of these Regulations, be let in accordance with a scheme of rents which takes account of the financial circumstances of the household and the standard of accommodation and amenity of the dwelling, and which is approved of by the Minister, and

(ii) shall, in the case of other dwellings, be let, as soon as is reasonably practicable, at rents in accordance with such a scheme and pending the making of such lettings, shall be let at rents which are not less than amounts approved of by the Minister in relation to such dwellings;

(c) the authority shall ensure that dwellings let by them on a tenancy for a month or a lesser period than a month shall, subject to the terms of the tenancy, be maintained in good tenantable condition and repair;

(d) dwellings sold or leased by the authority under section 90 of the Act of 1966 shall be sold or leased--

(i) in case a dwelling is occupied by a tenant, to the tenant in accordance with a purchase scheme made by the authority and approved of by the Minister; and

(ii) in case the dwelling is not so occupied, to any person with the consent of the Minister;

(e) land sold, leased or exchanged under section 88 of the Act of 1966, other than a site for which a grant is payable under section 14, shall be sold, leased or exchanged for the best price and on the best terms reasonably obtainable or, where the price and terms are not the best reasonably obtainable, with the consent of the Minister;

(f) the authority shall contribute from the municipal or county fund, as the case may be, insofar as it may be necessary to meet the costs incurred by them in respect of--

(i) the maintenance and improvement of dwellings provided by them, which have not been sold, and

(ii) the management of dwellings provided by them, irrespective of whether or not the dwellings have been sold.

(5) Where a housing authority, before the coming into operation of these Regulations have borrowed moneys for the purposes specified in paragraphs (a) to (e) of sub-article (1) from a source other than the Local Loans Fund, the Minister may pay to the authority a subsidy not exceeding the amount of the annual loan charges incurred by the authority on such borrowings.

6. (1) Subject to sub-article (2), a housing authority may, under section 16, guarantee a loan by a bank or a building society for the purpose of acquiring or constructing a house and the amount of the loan so guaranteed shall not exceed 50 per cent. of the amount by which the loan exceeds 75 per cent. of the value, or of the purchase price, of the house, whichever is the lesser.

(2) A loan shall be guaranteed under section 16 only where the income of the borrower in the income tax year immediately preceding the date of his application for the loan did not exceed £10,000.

(3) Where a loan has been guaranteed in accordance with this article and the bank or building society sells the house in exercise of a power arising under the mortgage, the housing authority may pay to the bank or building society 50 per cent. of any loss arising on disposal of the mortgaged property, subject to such payment not exceeding the amount of the guarantee in accordance with sub-article (1).

(4) The amount of any payment made by a housing authority in accordance with sub-article (3) may be recouped to the authority by the Minister.

7. Part VIII and Part IX of the Housing Regulations, 1980 ( S.I. No. 296 of 1980 ) are hereby revoked.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment

this 22nd day of December, 1988.

PÁDRAIG FLYNN,

Minister for the Environment.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this

22nd day of December, 1988.

ALBERT REYNOLDS,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide with effect from 1st January, 1989 for--

(i) recoupment by the Minister of certain payments made by housing authorities in relation to the accommodation of homeless persons;

(ii) the payment of grants for sites for private housing;

(iii) the payment of grants or subsidies for the provision or improvement of dwellings or residential caravan sites by housing authorities and the provision of accommodation by voluntary bodies; and

(iv) guarantees by housing authorities in respect of certain house purchase loans advanced by a bank or a building society.