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72
IMPROVEMENT OR CONVERSION OF EXISTING HOUSES
Owners of private dwellings may apply to the Council for assistance towards
carrying out works of improvement or conversion. One aim is to encourage owners to provide
services and amenities in houses which are sound but which were built to a lower standard
than is generally acceptable nowadays. The other is to encourage the provision of additional
satisfactory dwellings, either by converting the large outmoded house from one dwelling into
a number of flats, or maisonettes or by converting an old building into one or more dwellings.
Grants are not intended to help owners to meet the cost of ordinary repairs and
renewals, nor are they intended to adapt a perfectly adequate dwelling to the needs of a
particular family. They are not normally payable for the provision of extra living rooms or
bedrooms, or for increasing the size of existing rooms. They are not payable for the improvement
of premises used primarily or partly for business purposes.
Two methods of applications are available. The first is to apply for an improvement
grant - known as a discretionary grant - under the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act,
1958 as amended by the Housing Acts of 1961 and 1964. The maximum grant payable is one
half of the approved expenditure (which must not be less than £100) subject to a maximum
allowance of £400 per house improved, or per flat produced by conversion. Where, however,
flats are produced by the conversion of a house of three or more storeys, the upper limit of
grant is £500 per flat.
In considering a scheme of improvement or conversion submitted for grant, only
one question may properly be asked, namely, whether it will produce a satisfactory modernised
dwelling complying with the statutory conditions and the specified requirements.
The twelve requirements which the Minister of Housing and Local Government
has specified for a dwelling, in respect of which an improvement grant may be made, are as
follows:-
The dwelling must, after improvement or conversion -
1. Be in a good state of repair and substantially free from damp;
2. Have each room properly lighted and ventilated;
3. Have an adequate supply of wholesome water laid on inside the dwelling;
4. Be provided with efficient and adequate means of supplying hot water for
domestic purposes;
5. Have an internal or otherwise readily accessible water closet;
6. Have a fixed bath (or shower) preferably in a separate room;
7. Be provided with a sink or sinks and with suitable arrangements for the disposal
of waste water;
8. Have a proper drainage system;
9. Be provided in each room with adequate points for gas or electric lighting
(where reasonably available);
10. Be provided with adequate facilities for heating;
11. Have satisfactory facilities for storing, preparing and cooking food;
12. Have proper provision for the storage of fuel (where required);