Improvement grant letting terms HA 1988 s. 131
Section 131 of the Housing Act 1988 amends Housing Act 1985 grant conditions to include assured tenancies and assured agricultural occupancies.
With respect to applications for grants approved after the commencement of this Act, Part XV of the Housing Act 1985 (grants for works of improvement, repair and conversion) shall have effect subject to the following provisions of this section. In each of the following provisions— section 464 (preliminary condition: certificates as to future occupation), in subsection (5) (certificate of availability for letting), and section 501 (condition as to availability for letting), in subsection (2) (the terms of the condition), in paragraph (a) after the word “holiday” there shall be inserted “on a tenancy which is not a long tenancy and”. After the words “Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976”, in each place where they occur in— section 464(5), section 501(2), and subsection (2)(d) of section 503 (restriction on imposition of further conditions in relation to certain grants), there shall be inserted “or is occupied under an assured agricultural occupancy, within the meaning of Part I of the Housing Act 1988”. In section 504 (further conditions as to letting of dwelling), at the beginning of subsection (1) there shall be inserted the words “Subject to subsection (1A)”; in paragraph (a) of that subsection after the word “letting” there shall be inserted “on an assured tenancy which is not a long tenancy or”; and at the end of that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection— Paragraphs (d) to (f) of subsection (1) do not apply in the case of a dwelling which is or is to be let or available for letting on an assured tenancy. In subsection (2) of section 504 (definitions) after the words “subsection (1)” there shall be inserted “and subsection (1A)” and before paragraph (a) there shall be inserted the following paragraph— “ assured tenancy ” means a tenancy which is an assured tenancy within the meaning of Part I of the Housing Act 1988 or would be such a tenancy if paragraphs 3, 6, 7 and 10 of Schedule 1 to that Act were omitted . In section 526 (index of defined expressions in Part XV), after the entry relating to “local housing authority” there shall be inserted— long tenancy section 115 . Without prejudice to subsection (1) above, where an application for a grant— was made but not approved before the commencement of this Act, and was accompanied by a certificate of availability for letting in a form which does not take account of the amendments of section 464(5) by subsections (2) and (3) above, the certificate shall be treated as if it were in a form which takes account of the amendments made by those subsections. Without prejudice to subsection (1) above, where a grant has been approved before the commencement of this Act and— section 501(2) applies to impose a condition of the grant, or conditions have been imposed in terms of section 504(1), the condition or conditions shall have effect as if it or they were in a form which takes account of the amendments made by subsection (3) or, as the case may be, subsections (4) and (5) above.
Text in force at .
Source: legislation.gov.uk — The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), reproduced under licence Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it actually says
This provision updates the rules under Part XV of the Housing Act 1985 for housing improvement, repair, and conversion grants. It modifies the conditions governing how dwellings funded by local housing authority grants must be let or made available for letting.
Under these amendments, grant conditions requiring availability for letting apply to assured tenancies that are not long tenancies, as well as assured agricultural occupancies under Part I of the Housing Act 1988. Certain standard letting conditions under section 504 do not apply where the property is let or to be let on an assured tenancy.
The section also covers existing applications made or approved before the commencement of the Act, treating certificates and grant conditions as updated to reflect these new statutory letting rules.
When it applies
- Applying for a local housing authority grant to convert or repair a property intended to be let on an assured tenancy.
- Checking whether a grant condition requiring availability for letting is satisfied by offering an assured agricultural occupancy.
- Determining if grant conditions approved before the 1988 Act automatically incorporate the updated rules for assured tenancies.
What this section does not say
- Tenant compensation for misrepresentation or concealment by a landlord.
- Disputes concerning local housing authority repair notices.
- Statutory procedures for rent increases under assured periodic tenancies.
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This page reproduces the text of HA 1988 s. 131 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.