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The Circular emphasised the improved subsidy available to
Housing Associations and the availability now of "special arrangements"
with the Minister with regard to building specifically for
the needs of the elderly. With the establishment of a £25 million
loan fund, non-profit making housing associations are encouraged
to erect houses and flats to let on a self-supporting basis whilst copartnership schemes and improvements and conversions are to
be stimulated.
Attention on the Report of the Housing Standards Sub-Committee of the Central Housing Advisory Committee is focused by
Circular 13/62 entitled "Homes for Today and Tomorrow". This
informs local authorities of the changes, since the Dudley Committee of 1944, of recommended housing standards especially with
regard to space and equipment. These will give greater flexibility
to housing committees' schemes and architects' plans in ensuring
that the right kind of dwellings are provided for different family
needs. It further emphasises the importance of heating, the provision of sufficient and suitable play space for children of all ages
and the necessity for allowing enough room for the expected
increase in car ownership. The Minister indicated that this would
inevitably lead to larger and better houses and he hoped that, in
these days of financial stress, the rents would reflect these improvements.
Legislation—The Housing (Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Regulations, 1962.—These Regulations, made
under Section 13 of the Housing Act, 1961, and operative from
22nd May, provide a code of management which a local authority
may apply, by order under Section 12 of the Act, to any house
wholly or partly let in lodgings or occupied by members of more
than one family, which is in an unsatisfactory condition in consequence
of defective management. In the case of a building which
comprises separate dwellings (e.g. a tenement building or a block
of flats) the regulations may be applied, in the circumstances mentioned
in Section 21 of the Act, to the building as a whole instead
of to individual dwellings therein.
Application and interpretation are dealt with in Part I of
the Regulations whilst Part II, which is the essence of the code
of management, prescribes the duties to be carried out by the
manager of the house and, finally, Part III lays down the ancillary
requirements including the provision of information. In addition,
the Regulations impose certain obligations on occupants in order
that the manager shall carry out his duties effectively.
These Regulations are to be used in conjunction with the Housing Act, 1957, and with the new powers relating to the provision