HC Deb 24 February 1975 vol 887 cc242-6

Introductory

1.—(1) In this Schedule, notice land" means land in relation to which a notice is required to be served under paragraph 7 below; and the relevant date", in relation to any land comprised in a rehabilitation order, means the effective date or the date on which confirmation of the order was refused.

(2) The references to the Housing Act 1957 in section 178 of that Act (power to prescribe forms etc.) shall include references to this Schedule.

General

2. A rehabilitation order may be made and confirmed notwithstanding that the effect of the order in excluding any land from a clearance area is to sever that area into two or more separate and distinct areas; and in any such case the provisions of Part III of the Housing Act 1957 relating to the effect of a compulsory purchase order when confirmed, and to the proceedings to be taken after confirmation of such an order, shall apply as if those areas formed one clearance area.

3.—(1) Where a local authority have made a rehabilitation order they shall not until after the relevant date—

  1. (a) serve notice to treat under section 5 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 in respect of any land included in a compulsory purchase order made and confirmed by virtue of section 43 of the Housing Act 1957 which also includes notice land; or
  2. (b) demolish, without the consent of the Secretary of State, any building on notice land.

(2) Where the owner of a house to which section 114 above applies and which was included in the clearance area by reason of its being unfit for human habitation requests the local authority to make a rehabilitation order in respect of the house, and the authority refuse to make an order, they shall give him in writing their reasons for so refusing.

4.—(1) Where—

  1. (a) land included in a compulsory purchase order made and confirmed by virtue of section 43 of the Housing Act 1957 is comprised in a rehabilitation order, and
  2. (b) the rehabilitation order becomes operative in respect of that land, and
  3. (c) no interest in the land has vested in the local authority before the relevant date, and
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  4. (d) they have not before the relevant date served a notice to treat in respect of any interest in the land under section 5 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965,
the compulsory purchase order shall cease to have effect in relation to that land on the relevant date, and if the land is included in a clearance area, it shall cease to be so included.

(2) On and after the effective date, in a case where sub-paragraph (1) above does not apply, any compulsory purchase order relating to the land and confirmed by virtue of section 43 of the Housing Act 1957 shall have effect in relation to any interest in the land which at the relevant date has not vested in the authority—

  1. (i) in so far as it relates to a house, as if it had been made and confirmed under Part V of the Housing Act 1957, and
  2. (ii) in so far as it relates to land other than a house, as if it had been made and confirmed under Part VI of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971.

(3) Where a rehabilitation order becomes operative in respect of any land and any interest in that land is vested in the local authority at the relevant date—

  1. (a) any such interest in a house comprised in the order shall be treated as appropriated to the purposes of Part V of the Housing Act 1957, and
  2. (b) any other such interest in the land so comprised shall be treated as appropriated to the purposes of Part VI of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971.

5. Where—

  1. (a) a rehabilitation order becomes operative in respect of any land and
  2. (b) its effect is to exclude from the clearance area any land adjoining a general improvement area (within the meaning of Part II of the Housing Act 1969),
that land shall be included in the general improvement area unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs.

Procedure for making and confirming rehabilitation orders

6. A rehabilitation order shall be made in the prescribed form and shall describe, by reference to a map—

  1. (a) the houses to which it applies and which were included in the clearance area by reason of their being unfit for human habitation, and
  2. (b) the other land to which it applies.

7.—(1) Before submitting a rehabilitation order to the Secretary of State the local authority, except in so far as the Secretary of State directs otherwise—

  1. (a) shall publish in one or more newspapers circulating within their district a notice in the prescribed form stating that such an order has been made and describing the land to which it applies, and naming a place where a copy of the order and its accompanying map may be seen at all reasonable hours, and
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  2. (b) shall serve on every such person as is specified in sub-paragraph (2) below, a notice in the prescribed form stating—
    1. (i) the effect of the rehabilitation order,
    2. (ii) that it is about to be submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation, and
    3. (iii) the time within which and the manner in which objections to the order can be made.

(2) The persons mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(b) above are—

  1. (a) every person on whom notice was served of the making by virtue of section 43 of the Housing Act 1957 of any compulsory purchase order which, at the date of its confirmation, included any land subsequently comprised in the rehabilitation order;
  2. (b) every successor in title of such a person;
  3. (c) every owner, lessee and occupier of Part III land other than a tenant for a month or a period less than a month;
  4. (d) mortgages of Part III land, so far as it is reasonably practicable to ascertain such persons; and
  5. (e) every person on whom notice would have been required to be served under paragraph (c) or (d) above whose interest has been acquired under section 43 of the Housing Act 1957 since the clearance area was declared to be such an area.

(3) A notice under this paragraph shall be accompanied by a statement of the grounds on which the local authority are seeking confirmation of the rehabilitation order.

(4) A notice under this paragraph shall be served in accordance with section 169 of the Housing Act 1957.

8.—(1) If no objection is duly made by any of the persons on whom notices are required to be served under paragraph 7 above, or if all objections so made are withdrawn, the Secretary of State may confirm the order with or without modifications.

(2) If any objection duly made is not withdrawn, the Secretary of State, before confirming the order, shall cause a public local inquiry to be held or afford to any person by whom an objection has been duly made and not withdrawn an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose.

(3) After considering any objection not withdrawn and the report of the person who held the inquiry or of the person appointed under sub-paragraph (2) above, the Secretary of State may confirm the order with or without modifications.

(4) The Secretary of State may require any person who has made an objection to state the grounds of the objection in writing, and may disregard the objection if he is satisfied that it relates exclusively to matters which can be dealt with by the tribunal by whom any compensation is to be assessed.

(5) The Secretary of State's power to modify a rehabilitation order includes power, subject to sub-paragraph (6) below, to extend it to any notice land.

(6) The Secretary of State shall not extend the application of a rehabilitation order to any land unless he has served on the following persons, namely—

  1. (a) the local authority who made the rehabilitation order,
  2. (b) every owner, lessee and occupier of that land, except a tenant for a month or a period less than a month, and
  3. (c) so far as it is reasonably practicable to ascertain such persons, on every mortgagee of any such land,
a notice stating the effect of his proposals, and has afforded them an opportunity to make their views known.

9. In the application of Schedule 4 to the Housing Act 1957 to rehabilitation orders, it shall have effect as if—

  1. (a) every reference to a compulsory purchase order included a reference to a rehabilitation order;
  2. (b) every reference to the Housing Act 1957 were a reference to this Act; and
  3. (c) there were added, at the end of paragraph 1, the words "and every person on whom the Secretary of State served notice under Schedule 10 to the Housing Act 1974.""

With this we may also consider Lords Amendment No. 57, in page 35, column 3, leave out lines 35 to 37.

Mr. Kaufman

We introduced in the Housing Act 1974 a power whereby authorities could change their minds and rehabilitate houses scheduled for demolition under slum clearance compulsory purchase orders. The relevant provisions were Section 114 and Schedule 10, which empowered authorities to make a rehabilitation order in respect of any houses in a compulsory purchase order confirmed before three months after the coming into operation of that Act. The rehabilitation order would, if confirmed by the Secretary of State, revoke the CPO in respect of any property not yet acquired, would release them from the duty to demolish any property already acquired, and would require them to achieve the rehabilitation of the unfit houses included in the rehabilitation order.

In the light of subsequent examination it is clear that there are certain ambiguities in the present provision that should be removed. We are seeking to take the opportunity presented by this Bill to remove these ambiguities and clarify the procedure by amending these rehabilitation order provisions. We have come to the conclusion that this can best be achieved by redrafting them. But I can assure the House that the substance of these provisions remains unchanged.

Question put and agreed to.

Lords amendment: No. 51, in page 33, line 40, at end insert: . In section 119(3) of that Act (option mortgages) for the word "section" in the second place where it occurs, there shall be substituted the word "subsection".

Mr. Kaufman

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

The Government had originally envisaged bringing the whole of Section 119 of the Housing Act 1974 into force on a single day. But in the event this has not happened, and there will need to be at least two commencement orders for the section. This amendment therefore provides, for the sake of clarity, that the appointed day for the purpose of the transitional period for existing option mortgages under subsection (3) is the day on which subsection (3) comes into force.

Question put and agreed to.

Lords amendment: No. 53, in page 33, line 42, at end insert: . In Schedule 14 to that Act, in paragraph 2(b) (transitional provision concerning loans by the Housing Corporation) for "(c)" there shall be substituted "(e)".

Mr. Kaufman

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

This amendment rectifies an omission in the Housing Act 1974, as amended. It was not recognised at the time Section 17(4) was amended that consequential amendments were required to paragraph 2 of Schedule 14 to the 1974 Act. The amendment rectifies that omission.

Question put and agreed to. [Special Entry.]

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