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and repair, area improvement, rents of dwellings, houses in multiple occupation and slum
clearance.
With regard to the first two of these matters, although compulsory powers are still available,
emphasis continues to be laid on encouraging owners to carry out works.
Revised higher grants for improvement and repair are dealt with more fully in this Report under
"Grants, Subsidies and Loans".
Legislation regarding area improvement under the 1969 Act replaces the powers given in Part II of
the Housing Act 1964. In broad terms the objective is the "improvement of predominantly residential
areas", with emphasis on the improvement of the area as a whole and not only the dwellings. Great
importance is also attached to consultation and public participation. No improvement areas were
declared by the Council under the 1964 Act and experience of the working of such schemes is
limited. Improvement areas are not intended as an alternative to slum clearance.
Under Part III of the Act (rents of dwellings in good repair and provided with standard amenities)
controlled tenancies will be converted to regulated tenancies where the qualifying standard is
reached. (It is interesting to note that prior to this Act, the issues of "fitness" and "rent" were dealt
with under separate legislative codes.) This standard is certified by the Council by way of "Qualification
Certificates". There was no immediate response to the coming into operation of the legislation,
but 178 applications for Qualification Certificates were received by the end of the year. Details
appear in Table 16, page 73.
Powers in relation to houses in multiple occupation under previous Housing Acts have been
strengthened and extended by, inter alia, a new definition of houses in multiple occupation and an
extension of the power under section 22 of the Housing Act 1961 to control multiple occupation by
way of registration. Consideration is being given to the value of a scheme to register houses in
multiple occupation.
The amendments to slum clearance legislation are confined mainly to the financial aspects of
compensation. However, section 4 of the Housing Act 1957 which prescribes matters to be considered
in determining whether a house is unfit, has been amended to include "internal arrangement";
the reference to facilities for the storage of food has been omitted.
Improvement Grants
In an effort to encourage voluntary improvement of dwellings, the Housing Act 1969 introduced
more generous assistance by increasing the value and scope of grants to improve and modernise
sound older homes. The main changes, summarised below, became effective from 25th August 1969.
Standard Grants
These are grants made to help meet the cost of improving houses by providing for the first time
any missing standard amenities. Under the new scheme this type of grant is payable in respect of
half the cost of the improvement work, subject to a maximum of £200 for providing all five improvements
for the first time, and a lower maximum in other cases. In certain specified circumstances the
grant is subject to an overall maximum of £450 instead of the normal £200.
Discretionary Grants
These are made at the discretion of the Council to help owners improve houses to a good standard,
or to provide dwellings either by converting houses of an unsatisfactory size, or by converting
non-residential buildings to a housing use.
The new discretionary grants are worth up to half the estimated cost of work subject to an upper
limit of £1,000 per house, or for converting a house into flats half the cost of conversion up to a
maximum of £1,000 per flat. For a house of three storeys or more the upper limit is now £1,200 per
flat.
Special Grants
At the discretion of local councils, special grants may be payable towards the cost of providing
standard amenities which will be shared in houses in multiple occupation where there is no immediate
prospect of conversion into permanent separate dwellings.
The grant which may be made in these cases is for half the cost of the improvement works, subject
to a maximum determined by the number of amenities installed.