Housing Associations Act 1985
1985 c. 69
An Act to consolidate certain provisions of the Housing Acts relating to housing associations, with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Law Commission and of the Scottish Law Commission.
[30th October 1985]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Meaning of “housing association” and related expressions.
(1) In this Act “housing association” means a society, body of trustees or company—
(a) which is established for the purpose of, or amongst whose objects or powers are included those of, providing, constructing, improving or managing, or facilitating or encouraging the construction or improvement of, housing accommodation, and
(b) which does not trade for profit or whose constitution or rules prohibit the issue of capital with interest or dividend exceeding such rate as may be prescribed by the Treasury, whether with or without differentiation as between share and loan capital ;
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(2) In this Act “fully mutual”, in relation to a housing association, means that the rules of the association—
(a) restrict membership to persons who are tenants or prospective tenants of the association, and
(b) preclude the granting or assignment of tenancies to persons other than members;
and “co-operative housing association” means a fully mutual housing association which is a registered society within the meaning of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (in this part referred to as “the 1965 Act”).
(3) In this Act “self-build society” means a housing association whose object is to provide, for sale to, or occupation by, its members, dwellings built or improved principally with the use of its members’ own labour.
In this Act “housing trust” means a corporation or body of persons which—
(a) is required by the terms of its constituent instrument to use the whole of its funds, including any surplus which may arise from its operations, for the purpose of providing housing accommodation, or
(b) is required by the terms of its constituent instrument to devote the whole, or substantially the whole, of its funds to charitable purposes and in fact uses the whole, or substantially the whole, of its funds for the purpose of providing housing accommodation.
2B Meaning of “registered housing association”, “registered social landlord” etc.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“registered housing association” means a housing association registered in the register of social landlords maintained under section 20(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 17),
“registered social landlord” has the same meaning as in Part I of the Housing Act 1996, and
“unregistered”, in relation to a housing association, means not registered in the register of social landlords maintained under section 20(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 17).
“unregistered”, in relation to a housing association, means—
not registered as a provider of social housing under Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008,
not registered as a social landlord under Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996, and
not registered as a social landlord under Part 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 17).
9 Control of disposals by unregistered housing associations
(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1A) Subject to section 10, the consent of the relevant regulator is required for any disposition of grant-aided land (as defined in Schedule 1) by an unregistered housing association; and for this purpose “the relevant regulator” means,—
(a) if the land is in England, the Regulator of Social Housing, and
(b) if the land is in Wales, the Welsh Ministers.
(2) Consent under this section may be so given—
(a) generally to all housing associations or to a particular housing association or description of association;
(b) in relation to particular land or in relation to a particular description of land;
and may be given subject to conditions.
(3) A disposition by a housing association which requires consent under this section is valid in favour of a person claiming under the association notwithstanding that that consent has not been given; and a person dealing with the association, or with a person claiming under the association, shall not be concerned to see or inquire whether any such consent has been given.
This subsection has effect subject to section 12 (avoidance of certain dispositions of houses without consent).
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) For the purposes of this section “disposition” means sale, lease, mortgage, charge or any other disposal.
(6) Consent under this section must be in writing.
(1) A disposition by an unregistered housing association which is a charity is not within section 9 if by virtue of sections 117 to 121 and 124 of the Charities Act 2011 it cannot be made without an order of the court or the Charity Commission; but before making an order in such a case the Charity Commission shall consult,—
(a) in the case of dispositions of land in England, the Regulator of Social Housing, and
(b) in the case of dispositions of land in Wales, the Welsh Ministers.
(2) A letting ... by an unregistered housing association which is a housing trust, is not within section 9 if it is—
(a) a letting of land under a secure tenancy, or
(b) a letting of land under what would be a secure tenancy but for any of paragraphs 2 to 12 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1985 or paragraphs 1 to 8 of Schedule 2 to the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (tenancies excepted from being secure tenancies for reasons other than that they are long leases) or
(c) a letting of land under an assured tenancy or an assured agricultural occupancy, or
(d) a letting of land in England or Wales under what would be an assured tenancy or an assured agricultural occupancy but for any of paragraphs 4 to 8 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988, ...
(e) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(f) a letting of land under a tenancy or licence that is an occupation contract, or
(g) a letting of land under a tenancy or licence under what would be an occupation contract if notice had been given (see Schedule 2 to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 1)), other than a long tenancy within the meaning of letting of the type described in paragraph 8 of that Schedule (meaning of long tenancies).
(3) The grant by an unregistered housing association which does not satisfy the landlord condition in section 80 of the Housing Act 1985 (bodies which are capable of granting secure tenancies) of a lease for a term ending within the period of seven years and three months beginning on the date of the grant is not within section 9 unless—
(a) there is conferred on the lessee (by the lease or otherwise) an option for renewal for a term which, together with the original term, would expire outside that period, or
(b) the lease is granted wholly or partly in consideration of a fine.
(4) In subsection (3) the expression “lease” includes an agreement for a lease and a licence to occupy, and the expressions “grant” and “term” shall be construed accordingly.
12 Avoidance of certain disposals of houses without consent.
A disposal of a house by a housing association made without the consent required by section 9 is void unless—
(a) the disposal is to an individual (or to two or more individuals), and
(b) the disposal does not extend to any other house.
(1) Where a housing association wishes to erect houses in Englandwhich in the opinion of the Secretary of State are required and the local housing authority in whose district the houses are proposed to be built are unwilling to acquire land with a view to selling or leasing it to the association, the county council, on the application of the association, may acquire land for that purpose.
(2) For that purpose the county council may exercise all the powers of a local housing authority under Part II of the Housing Act 1985 (provision of housing) in regard to the acquisition and disposal of land; and the provisions of that Act as to the acquisition of land by local housing authorities for the purposes of that Part apply accordingly.