120 Arrangements with housing associations for provision of housing
(1) A local authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make arrangements with a housing association for the purpose of enabling the association to provide housing accommodation or to alter, enlarge, repair or improve houses or buildings which, or an estate or interest in which, the local authority have acquired with a view to the provision or improvement of housing accommodation.
(2) Arrangements made under this section shall include such terms with regard to such matters, including the types of houses to be provided, and the rents at which the houses provided are to be let, as may appear to the local authority to be expedient in view of the needs of their district in relation to housing and may be approved by the Minister.
(3) For the purposes of section ninety-three of this Act, the housing accommodation in connection with which buildings or land may be provided under that section shall include housing accommodation provided by a housing association under arrangements made with a local authority under this section.
In this subsection the reference to arrangements made under this section includes a reference to arrangements made under section twenty-nine of the Housing Act, 1930, and, without prejudice to section one hundred and ninety-two of this Act, to arrangements made under section twenty-seven of the Housing Act, 1935, or section ninety-four of the Housing Act, 1936.
(4) If a housing association represent to the Minister that they have submitted to the local authority proposals for arrangements under this section and that the local authority have unreasonably refused to make arrangements in accordance with the proposals, the Minister may require the authority to furnish him with a report as to the matter stating the reasons for their refusal.
121 Arrangements with housing associations for improvement of housing
(1) A local authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make arrangements with a housing association for—
(a) the provision of dwellings by the association by means of the conversion of houses or other buildings,
(b) the alteration, enlargement, repair or improvement of dwellings by the housing association.
(2) Arrangements made under this section shall include such terms with regard to such matters, including the rents at which the dwellings are to be let, as may appear to the local authority to be expedient in view of the needs of their district in relation to housing and may be approved by the Minister.
(3) In this section the reference to repair does not include the execution of works of ordinary repair except so far as the execution thereof is incidental to or connected with the execution of works of improvement, alteration or enlargement or of works of repair not being ordinary works of repair.
(4) As respects the administrative county of London, other than the City of London, both the metropolitan borough council and the London County Council shall be local authorities for the purposes of this section.
122 Power of local authorities to sell furniture to persons housed by housing associations
A local authority shall have power to sell, or supply under hire-purchase agreement, furniture to the occupants of houses .provided by a housing association under arrangements made with the local authority, and, for that purpose, to buy furniture.
In this section the expression " hire-purchase " has the same meaning as in the Hire-Purchase Act, 1938.
123 Unification of conditions affecting housing associations' houses
Where the Minister has undertaken to make in respect of any houses under the management of a housing association contributions under more than one enactment and the association are required to observe in the management of the houses varying special conditions or terms imposed by those enactments, the Minister may, on the application of the association and after consultation with any local authority who are under obligation to make grants or contributions in respect of any of the houses, make a scheme specifying, as conditions to be observed in the management of all the houses in substitution for the conditions or terms imposed as aforesaid, such conditions as he thinks fit, and in specifying the conditions to be so observed the Minister shall have regard to the provisions of this Part of this Act with respect to the conditions which a local authority are required to observe in relation to their houses.
124 Power of Minister to recognise central housing association
The Minister may, if he thinks fit, recognise for the purposes of this section any central association or other body established for the purpose of promoting the formation and extension of housing associations and of giving them advice and assistance, and the Minister may, in any of the five years next following the date on which he recognises the said body, make a grant in aid of the expenses of the body of such amount as he may with the approval of the Treasury determine.
125 Provision of housing accommodation by development corporations
A development corporation shall be deemed to be a housing association within the meaning of this Act and accordingly arrangements may be made under section one hundred and twenty of this Act for the provision by a development corporation of any housing accommodation which a local authority are empowered to provide under this Act, and section one hundred and twenty-one of this Act shall apply to a development corporation as it applies to a housing association:
Provided that the said section one hundred and twenty-one shall not apply to a development corporation established by an order under section sixteen of the New Towns Act, 1946 (which relates to orders for the combination and transfer of functions of development corporations).
126 Power of county councils to provide houses for their employees
A county council shall have power to provide houses for persons employed or paid by, or by a statutory committee of, the council, and for that purpose may be authorised to acquire or appropriate land in like manner as a local authority may be authorised to acquire or appropriate land for the purposes of this Part of this Act.
127 Power of companies, &c, to provide houses for working classes
Any dock or harbour company, or any other company, society, or association established for trading or manufacturing purposes in the course of whose business, or in the discharge of whose duties, persons of the working class are employed, may (notwithstanding any Act of Parliament, or charter, or any rule of law or equity to the contrary) at any time erect, either on their own land or on any other land (which they are hereby authorised to purchase and hold for the purpose and to pay for out of any funds at their disposal), houses for the accommodation of all or any of the persons of the working class employed by them.
128 Trusts for provision of houses for working classes
(1) The trustees of any houses for the working classes for the time being provided in any district by private subscriptions or otherwise, may, with the consent of a majority of the committee or other persons by whom they were appointed trustees, sell or lease the houses to the local authority of the district, or make over to them the management thereof.
(2) If in any case it appears to the Minister that the institution of legal proceedings is requisite or desirable with respect to any property required to be applied under any trusts for the provision of houses available for the working classes, or that the expediting of any such legal proceedings is requisite or desirable, the Minister may certify the case to the Attorney-General, and the Attorney-General may institute any legal proceedings, or intervene in any legal proceedings already instituted, in -such manner as he thinks proper in the circumstances.
(3) Before preparing any scheme with reference to property required to be applied under any trusts for the provision of houses available for the working classes, the court or body which is responsible for making the scheme shall communicate with the Minister and consider any recommendations made by him with reference to the proposed scheme.
129 Power of corporate bodies to sell or let land for housing purposes
Any body corporate holding land may sell, exchange, or lease the land for the purpose of the erection of houses for the working classes at such price, or for such consideration, or for such rent, as having regard to the said purpose and to all the circumstances of the case is the best that can reasonably be obtained, notwithstanding that a higher price, consideration, or rent might have been obtained if the land were sold, exchanged, or leased for another purpose.
130 Power of water and gas companies to supply on favourable terms
Any commissioners or trustees of waterworks, water companies, gas boards, and other corporations, bodies and persons having the management of any waterworks, reservoirs, wells, springs, or streams of water, and gasworks respectively, may, in their discretion, grant and furnish supplies of water or gas for houses provided under this Part of this Act, either without charge or on such other favourable terms as they think fit.
131 Exercise of Public Health Act powers for purposes of Part V
(1) A local authority may, for the purposes of this Part of this Act, exercise the same powers as in the execution of their duties under the Public Health Act, 1936.
(2) In the application of this section to local authorities in London, for the reference to the Public Health Act, 1936, there shall be substituted a reference, in the case of a metropolitan borough council, to the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, in the case of the London County Council, a reference to the Metropolis Management Acts, 1855 to 1890, and, in the case of the Common Council of the City of London, a reference to the City of London (Sewers) Acts, 1848 to 1897.
132 Local authority for Part V in London other than City
(1) As respects the administrative county of London other than the City of London, the question whether or not in any case the London County Council or the metropolitan borough council are to be the local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act shall, save as otherwise expressly provided, be determined in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this section.
(2) The London County Council shall be the local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act so far as regards the provision of any houses outside the administrative county of London.
(3) The London County Council shall carry out such reviews of housing conditions and submit to the Minister such proposals for the provision of new houses as are required by this Part of this Act, but, before preparing any such proposals, the county council shall consult with the councils of the several metropolitan boroughs, and the council of every metropolitan borough shall furnish such information as may reasonably be required by the London County Council for the purpose of preparing any such proposals.
(4) As respects a metropolitan borough, the council of the borough shall be the local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act save as regards the provision of any houses outside the borough and the carrying out of such reviews of housing accommodation and the submission to the Minister of such proposals for the provision of new houses as are required by this Part of this Act.
(5) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on a metropolitan borough council by this Act, the London County Council shall be a local authority for the purposes of this Part of this Act as respects any part of the administrative county of London, other than the City of London, for all the purposes of this Part of this Act other than those for which it is the local authority to the exclusion of the metropolitan borough council:
Provided that the London County Council shall not develop land in a metropolitan borough for the purpose only of meeting the needs of the borough without the consent of the council thereof.
(6) If it appears to the Minister to be expedient that the needs of a metropolitan borough with respect to the provision of housing accommodation should be satisfied by the provision by the council of that borough of such accommodation outside the administrative county of London or within another metropolitan borough, he may by order contained in a statutory instrument provide for the transfer to that council, to such extent as appears to him to be requisite for that purpose, of any powers which, by virtue of subsection (2) or subsection (5) of this section are powers of the London County Council.
133 Exercise by local authorities in London of certain powers for the purposes of Part V
(1) So much of subsection (1) of section ninety-seven of this Act as provides that a local authority may acquire land for the purposes of this Part of this Act by agreement shall have effect so as to authorise a local authority in the administrative county of London to acquire land for those purposes by agreement in like manner as if those purposes were purposes of the Public Health Act, 1875, and sections one hundred and seventy-five to one hundred and seventy-eight of that Act so far as they relate to the purchase of land by agreement shall apply accordingly and shall for the purposes of this Part of this Act extend to London in like manner as if the common council of the City of London, the London County Council and a metropolitan borough council, respectively, were a local authority in the said sections mentioned.
(2) Any purchase money payable in pursuance of this section by a local authority in respect of any land, estate or interest of another local authority which would, but for this subsection, be paid into court in manner provided by the Lands Clauses Acts may, if the Minister consents, instead of being paid into court, be paid as the Minister may determine.
A decision of the Minister under this subsection shall be final and conclusive.
134 Provision of housing accommodation in Isles of Scilly
(1) Without prejudice to his powers under section two hundred and ninety-two of the Local Government Act, 1933, the Minister may, upon the application of the council of the Isles of Scilly, by order confer or impose upon that council such functions relating to the provision of housing accommodation in the Isles of Scilly as the Minister thinks appropriate.
(2) An order made under this section may provide for the making by the Minister and by the said council of contributions in respect of houses provided in pursuance of such an order.
(3) An order made under this section may contain such incidental and consequential provisions, including provisions conferring powers or imposing duties on the said council, as the Minister thinks necessary.
(4) An order made under this section may be revoked or varied by a subsequent order made by the Minister whether or not on the application by the said council.
(5) The power of making orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
135 Expenses of rural district councils and county councils
(1) Subject to the powers of the Minister to direct the debiting of any expenses to the Housing Revenue Account, any expenses incurred by a rural district council under Part II of this Act or under the provisions of Part III of this Act relating to clearance areas shall be charged as special expenses on the contributory place in respect of which they are incurred:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply to expenses incurred under section thirty of this Act or under Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any expenses incurred in the execution of this Act by a county council, other than the London County Council, shall be defrayed as expenses for general county purposes, or as expenses for special county purposes, as the case may require.
(3) The following expenses incurred by the London County Council shall be defrayed as expenses incurred for special county purposes, namely—
all expenses incurred in the execution of this Act which are attributable to the exercise by the London County Council of their powers under the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, not being expenses so incurred in respect of houses or other buildings provided or land acquired or appropriated under the last mentioned Act after the sixth day of February, nineteen hundred and nineteen.
136 Power of local authorities to borrow for purposes of Act
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a local authority may borrow—
(a) for the purposes of Part II of this Act, so far as it relates to the execution of repairs and works by local authorities,
(b) for the purposes of Part III (except sections seventy-two to seventy-five and Part II of the Second Schedule) and Part IV of this Act,
(c) for the purposes of Part V of this Act (except sections one hundred and fifteen and one hundred and twenty),
and a county council (other than the London County Council) may borrow for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Money borrowed under this Act by the London County Council may be borrowed in manner provided by the London County Council (Loans) Act, 1955.
(3) The maximum period which may be sanctioned as the period for which money may be borrowed by the London County Council or the Common Council of the City of London for the purposes of this Act shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any Act of Parliament, be eighty years.
137 Borrowing in connection with operations carried out by local authority outside its own area
(1) Where housing operations under Part V of this Act are being carried out by a local authority outside their own area, that authority shall, subject to the approval of the Minister, have power to borrow money for the purpose of defraying any expenses (including, if the Treasury so approve, interest payable in respect of any period before the completion of the operations, or a period of five years from the date of the borrowing, whichever period is the shorter, on money borrowed under this section) incurred by the local authority in connection with any works necessary for the purposes of the operations, or incidental to the carrying out thereof, which under this Act they are authorised to execute:
Provided that any approval of the Minister, in so far as it relates to the sanction of a loan under the foregoing provisions for the purpose of the payment of interest payable in respect of money borrowed, shall be given by order which shall be provisional only and of no effect until confirmed by Parliament.
(2) The council of any county, borough or district in which operations are being carried out as aforesaid shall have power, with the approval of the Minister, to borrow money for the purposes of any agreement entered into by the council with the local authority under Part V of this Act.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (3) of section eight of the Statutory Orders (Special Procedure) Act, 1945 (under which that Act may be applied to any enactment passed before that Act which applies the provisional order procedure), the proviso to subsection (1) of this section shall be treated as an enactment passed before that Act.
(1) Without prejudice to any other powers of borrowing, a local authority (other than a metropolitan borough council) or a county council may, with the consent of the Minister, borrow any sums which they have power to borrow for the purposes of this Act, by the issue of bonds (in this Act referred to as " local bonds") in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2) The provisions set out in the Eighth Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to local bonds.
(3) Where on an application made by two or more local authorities or county councils the Minister is satisfied that it is expedient that those authorities or councils should have power to make a joint issue of local bonds, the Minister may by order contained in a statutory instrument make such provision as appears to him necessary for the purpose, and any such order shall provide for the securing of the bonds issued upon the joint rates, property and revenues of the authorities or councils.
The provisions of any such order shall have effect as if they were contained in an order made under section six of the Public Health Act, 1936.
(4) A local authority or county council by whom any local bonds have been issued may, without the consent of the Minister, borrow for the purpose of redeeming those bonds.
139 Loans by Public Works Loan Commissioners to local authorities
Where a loan is made by the Public Works Loan Commissioners to a local authority for the purposes of this Act or to a county council for the purpose of the provision of houses for employees—
(a) the loan shall be made at the minimum rate allowed for loans out of the Local Loans Fund applicable to the period for which the loan is made, and
(b) the period for which the loan is made may exceed the period allowed under any enactment limiting the period for which loans may be made by the Commissioners, but shall not exceed eighty years.
140 Power of local authorities to lend to other authorities
(1) A county council may lend to any local authority within their area any money which that authority have power to borrow for the purposes of this Act, subject to any conditions (including conditions with respect to the borrowing by a local authority from the county council of the money so raised) which the Minister may impose by general or special order contained in a statutory instrument.
(2) Where housing operations under Part V of this Act are being carried out by a local authority outside their own area, that authority shall, subject to the approval of the Minister, have power to advance to the council of any county, borough or district in which the operations are being carried out such sums as may, by reason of any agreement made with that council under that Part, be required by that council in connection with the construction by them of any works which are necessary for the purposes, or incidental to the carrying out, of the operations.
141 Subscriptions by local authorities to local savings committees
A local authority for the purposes of Part V of this Act may, subject to the approval of the Minister, contribute to the expenses of any local savings committee established for their district or any part thereof.
The proceeds of the sale of any land acquired by a local authority for any of the purposes of this Act and any other capital moneys received by a local authority in respect of any transaction under sections forty-seven, fifty-one or one hundred and four or under subsection (1) of section one hundred and five of this Act shall be applied, with the sanction of the Minister, either in the repayment of debt or for any other purpose for which capital money may properly be applied:
Provided that the capital moneys received in respect of any transaction under section one hundred and four or subsection (1) of section one hundred and five of this Act may be applied by the authority in or towards the purchase of other land for the purposes of Part V of this Act.
(1) The Minister shall appoint a committee, to be called the Central Housing Advisory Committee, for the purpose of—
(a) advising the Minister on any matter, relating to a temporary increase of the permitted number of persons in relation to overcrowding, as respects which he is required by section seventy-nine of this Act to consult the Committee;
(b) advising the Housing Management Commissions constituted under Part V of this Act on any matter as respects which such Commissions are required to consult the Committee;
(c) advising the Minister on any question which may be referred by him to the Committee with respect to any other matter arising in connection with the execution of the enactments relating to housing;
(d) considering the operation of the enactments relating to housing and making to the Minister such representations with respect to matters of general concern arising in connection with the execution of those enactments as the Committee think desirable.
(2) The Minister may by order contained in a statutory instrument make provision with respect to the constitution and procedure of the Committee, and any such order may be varied by a subsequent order under this subsection.
(3) The Minister may, out of moneys provided by Parliament, pay such expenses of the Committee as he may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine.
Where under the powers given by any local Act or Provisional Order or Order having the effect of an Act (not being an order made under this Act), any land is acquired, whether compulsorily or by agreement, by any authority, company or persons, or where any land is so acquired compulsorily under any general Act other than this Act, the provisions set out in the Ninth Schedule to this Act shall apply with respect to the provision of housing accommodation.
145 Building byelaws not to apply to certain buildings
(1) Where in connection with housing operations carried out under this Act by a local authority or county council, or by a housing association or housing trust, new buildings are constructed, or public streets and roads are laid out and constructed, in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Minister, the provisions of any building byelaws shall not, so far as they are inconsistent with the plans and specifications so approved, apply to those buildings and streets, and, notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act, any public street or road laid out and constructed in accordance with those plans and specifications may be taken over and thereafter maintained by the local authority:
Provided that as respects the administrative county of London, the Minister shall not approve for the purposes of this subsection any plans and specifications inconsistent with the provisions of any building byelaws in force in the county except after consultation with the London County Council on the general question of the relaxation of such provisions in connection with housing operations.
(2) Where the Minister has approved plans and specifications which in certain respects are inconsistent with the provisions of any building byelaws in force in the district in which the works are to be executed, any proposals for the erection thereon of houses and the laying out and construction of new streets which do not form part of housing operations carried out under this Act may, notwithstanding those provisions, be carried out if the local authority are, or, on appeal the Minister is, satisfied that they will involve departures from such provisions only to the like extent as in the case of the plans and specifications so approved, and that, where such plans and specifications have been approved subject to any conditions, the like conditions will be complied with in the case of proposals to which this subsection applies.
(3) In the application of the last foregoing subsection to the administrative county of London, references to the local authority shall be construed, in relation to matters within the jurisdiction of the London County Council, as references to them, and, in relation to other matters, as references to the Common Council of the City of London or the council of a metropolitan borough as the case may be.
(4) Subject to any conditions which may be prescribed by the Minister, the provisions of any building byelaws shall not apply to any new buildings and new streets constructed and laid out by a local authority or county council in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under Part IV of the Agriculture Act. 1947, or under the Allotments Acts, 1908 to 1950.
146 Relaxation of Building Acts or byelaws in London
For the purpose of facilitating the erection of houses within the administrative county of London, the London County Council may, with the consent of the Minister, suspend, alter or relax the provisions of any enactment or byelaw relating to the formation or laying out of new streets, or the construction of sewers or of buildings intended for human habitation.
147 Power of Minister to prescribe a code of byelaws for new streets
(1) For the purpose of facilitating the erection of houses, the Minister may prescribe a code of building byelaws relating to the level, width, and construction of new streets, but no such code shall have effect unless and until adopted by resolution of a local authority ; and where such code or any part thereof is so adopted it shall not be necessary for the local authority to comply with the requirements of subsections (3), (4) and (5) of section two hundred and fifty of the Local Government Act, 1933, or, if the byelaws are made under a local Act, the corresponding provisions of that Act, and the code or such part thereof shall have full force and effect as part of the byelaws of the local authority in substitution for such of the existing byelaws of the authority as may be specified in the resolution.
(2) Where a local authority have approved any plans and sections for a new street, subject to any conditions imposed or authorised by any byelaws in force in the area of that authority, those conditions may be enforced at any time by the authority against the owner for the time being of the land to which the conditions relate.
(3) Where, as respects the district of any local authority, matters relating to the level, width and construction of new streets are regulated by a local Act and not by byelaws, and the local authority pass a resolution adopting the said code or any part thereof, the code or such part as aforesaid shall have full force and effect as if it formed part of the local Act in substitution for such provisions of the local Act as may be specified in the resolution.
(4) Before a resolution is passed under this section, notice of the proposed resolution shall be published in one or more newspapers circulating in the district, and when such a resolution has been passed the local authority shall, within seven days thereafter, send a copy thereof to the Minister.
(5) This section shall not apply to the administrative county of London.
148 Power of Minister to revoke unreasonable byelaws
(1) If the Minister is satisfied, by a local inquiry or otherwise, that the erection of any buildings within any borough or urban or rural district is, or is likely to be, unreasonably impeded in consequence of any byelaws with respect to new streets or buildings in force therein, the Minister may require the local authority to revoke those byelaws or to make such new byelaws as he may consider necessary for the removal of the impediment.
(2) If the local authority do not within three months after the requisition comply therewith, the Minister may himself revoke the byelaws, and make by statutory instrument such new byelaws as he considers necessary for the removal of the impediment, and those new byelaws shall have effect as if they had been duly made by the local authority and confirmed by the Minister.
(3) The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (2) of section sixty-nine of the Public Health Act, 1936 (under which the Minister may require a local authority to revoke building byelaws if the erection of any building is unreasonably impeded by them).
(1) A local authority in preparing any proposals for the provision of houses, or in taking any action under this Act, shall have regard to the beauty of the landscape or countryside and the other amenities of the locality, and the desirability of preserving existing works of architectural, historic or artistic interest, and shall comply with such directions, if any, in that behalf as may be given to them by the Minister.
(2) No land which is the site of an ancient monument or other object of archaeological interest shall be acquired for the purposes of this Act by means of a compulsory purchase order under Part II or Part III of this Act or by any means other than that of a compulsory purchase order.
(3) Where any land proposed to be acquired under this Act by means of a compulsory purchase order under Part II or Part III of this Act or by any means other than that of a compulsory purchase order, or any land proposed to be appropriated under this Act, is situate within the prescribed distance from any of the royal palaces or parks, the local authority shall communicate with the Minister of Works, and the Minister of Housing and Local Government shall, before authorising the acquisition or appropriation of the land or the raising of any loan for the purpose, take into consideration any recommendations which the local authority may have received from the Minister of Works with reference to the proposal.
For the purposes of this sub-section, " prescribed " means prescribed by regulations in a statutory instrument made by the Minister of Housing and Local Government after consultation with the Minister of Works.
(1) Where any order under this Act (not being an order for the compulsory purchase of land under Part II or Part V of this Act) authorises the acquisition or appropriation to any other purpose of any land forming part of any common, open space or allotment, the order so far as it relates to the acquisition or appropriation of such land shall be subject to special Parliamentary procedure except where it provides for giving in exchange for such land other land, not being less in area, certified by the Minister after consultation with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to be equally advantageous to the persons, if any, entitled to commonable or other rights and to the public.
(2) Before giving any such certificate, the Minister shall give public notice of the proposed exchange, and shall afford opportunities to all persons interested to make representations and objections in relation thereto, and shall, if necessary, hold a local inquiry on the subject.
(3) An order which authorises such an exchange shall provide for vesting the land given in exchange in the persons in whom the common, open space or allotment was vested, subject to the same rights, trusts and incidents as attached to the common or open space or allotment and for discharging the part of the common, open space or allotment acquired or appropriated from all rights, trusts and incidents to which it was previously subject.
(4) For the purposes of this section—
" common " includes any land subject to be enclosed under the Inclosure Acts, 1845 to 1882, and any town or village green ;
" open space " means any land laid out as a public garden or used for the purposes of public recreation, and any disused burial ground;
" allotment " means any allotment set out as a fuel allotment or a field garden allotment under an Inclosure Act.
151 Power of local authorities to enforce covenants against owner for the time being of land
Where—
(a) a local authority have sold or exchanged land acquired by them under this Act and the purchaser of the land or the person taking the land in exchange has entered into a covenant with the local authority concerning the land; or
(b) an owner of any land has entered into a covenant with the local authority concerning the land for the purposes of any of the provisions of this Act;
the authority shall have power to enforce the covenant against the persons deriving title under the covenantor, notwithstanding that the authority are not in possession of or interested in any land for the benefit of which the covenant was entered into, in like manner and to the like extent as if they had been possessed of or interested in such land.
Notwithstanding anything in section fifty of the Brine Pumping (Compensation for Subsidence) Act, 1891, a local authority or county council shall be entitled to compensation in accordance with the provisions of that Act in respect of any injury or damage to any houses belonging to them which were provided under a housing scheme towards the losses on which the Minister is liable to contribute under the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act, 1919.
A local authority may accept a donation of land, money or other property for any of the purposes of this Act, and it shall not be necessary to enrol any assurance with respect to any such property under the Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act, 1888.
Where, upon an application made by one of the local authorities concerned, the Minister is satisfied that it is expedient that any local authorities should act jointly for any purposes of this Act, either generally or in any special case, the Minister may by order contained in a statutory instrument make provision for the purpose and any provisions so made shall have the same effect as if they were contained in an order made under section six of the Public Health Act, 1936.
155 Buildings situated in districts of more than one local authority
(1) In the case of a building which is situated partly in the district of one local authority and partly in the district of another, the local authorities may agree that this section shall have effect in relation to the building or to the building and the site thereof and any yard, garden, out-houses, and appurtenances belonging thereto or usually enjoyed therewith.
(2) Whilst such an agreement as aforesaid is in force, the enactments relating to housing shall have effect as if the district of such one of the local authorities as may be specified therein included the whole of the building and, if the agreement so provides, the site thereof and any such other premises as aforesaid.
156 References by local authority to Public Health and Housing Committee
In the case of a county council, other than the London County Council, all matters relating to the exercise and performance by the council of their powers and duties under this Act (except the power of raising a rate or borrowing money) shall stand referred to the public health and housing committee of the council, and the council, before exercising any such powers, shall, unless in their opinion the matter is urgent, receive and consider the report of that committee with respect to the matter in question, and the council may also delegate to that committee, with or without restrictions or conditions as they think fit, any of their powers under this Act, except the power of raising a rate or borrowing money and except any power of resolving that the powers of a district council in default should be transferred to the council.
(1) The medical officer of health of a local authority shall make an official representation to the authority whenever he is of the opinion that any house in their district is unfit for human habitation, or that any area in their district is an area which should be dealt with as a clearance area.
(2) If any justice of the peace acting for the district of a local authority or, in the case of a rural district, the parish council of any parish within that area, complain to the medical officer of health in writing that any house is unfit for human habitation or that any area should be dealt with as a clearance area, it shall be his duty forthwith to inspect that house or that area and to make a report to the local authority, stating the facts of the case and whether, in his opinion, the house is unfit for human habitation or whether, in his opinion, the area should be dealt with as a clearance area, but the absence of any such complaint shall not excuse him from inspecting any house or area or making a representation thereon to the local authority.
(3) A local authority shall as soon as may be take into consideration any official representation which has been made to them.
(4) In this Act, the expression " official representation " means in the case of any local authority a representation made to that authority by the medical officer thereof, and includes also, in the case of the council of a rural district or of an urban district not containing according to the last published census a population of more than ten thousand, a representation made by the medical officer of health of the county to the county council and forwarded by them to the council of the district, and, in the case of the council of a metropolitan borough, a representation made by the medical officer of health of the County of London to the London County Council and forwarded by them to the borough council.
(5) Every representation made by a medical officer of health in pursuance of this Act shall be in writing.
(1) Nothing in the Rent Acts shall prevent possession being obtained of any house possession of which is required for the purpose of enabling a local authority to exercise their powers under any enactment relating to housing.
(2) Where a local authority, for the purpose of exercising their powers under any enactment relating to housing, require possession of any building or any part of a building of which they are the owners, then, whatever may be the value or rent of the building or part of a building, they may obtain possession thereof under the Small Tenements Recovery Act, 1838, as in the cases therein provided for, at any time after the tenancy of the occupier has expired, or has been determined.
Any person authorised in writing stating the particular purpose or purposes for which the entry is authorised, by the local authority or the Minister, may at all reasonable times, on giving twenty-four hours' notice to the occupier and to the owner, if the owner is known, of his intention, enter any house, premises, or buildings—
(a) for the purpose of survey or valuation, in the case of houses, premises, or buildings which the local authority are authorised by this Act to purchase compulsorily; or
(b) for the purpose of survey and examination, in the case of a house in respect of which—
(i) a notice requiring the execution of works has been served under Part II of this Act, or
(ii) a demolition order has been made under Part II or Part III of this Act, or
(iii) a closing order has been made under section eighteen of this Act, or
(iv) a clearance order has been made under Part I11 of this Act, or
(c) for the purpose of survey and examination, where it appears to the authority or Minister that survey or examination is necessary in order to determine whether any powers under this Act should be exercised in respect of the house, premises or building; or
(d) for the purpose of measuring the rooms of a house in order to ascertain for the purposes of Part IV of this Act the number of persons permitted to use the house for sleeping.