Maintaining Houses - Preserving Homes Consultation Summary
LOCAL AUTHORITY POWERS
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The Scottish Executive is considering legislation to deal with the problem of keeping Scotland's private sector houses and flats in good repair. In the last 20 years there have been great improvements in housing standards. However, we now need your opinions and advice to help us ensure that private owners maintain their property in a condition fit for the twenty-first century.
Dealing with defects and disrepair
Legislation giving local authorities powers to deal with properties in disrepair is outdated and complex. We want to simplify the framework for maintenance and repair in the private sector, empowering local authorities to deal with these matters more effectively.
Grant funding is currently mandatory when local authorities issue statutory notices. We propose to link notices to mandatory assistance to be determined by the local authority, such as advice, practical assistance, and loans and grants. We propose a single statutory notice to repair to replace the various repair and improvement notices.
Currently local authorities can act where lack of repairs or maintenance has already led to deterioration. The notice to repair would cover not only properties in serious disrepair but those where present disrepair is likely to lead to serious disrepair or damage to adjoining buildings. We propose that local authorities have power to serve a maintenance order where future maintenance would be inadequate, owners have failed to carry out previous common works, or enforcement action has been necessary. This order would apply to houses and areas such as gardens and common land. It would require owners to implement a maintenance plan, with access to mandatory assistance. When owners do not comply, local authorities will have power to prepare their own maintenance plans and recover costs from the owners.
We propose to give local authorities the power to require owners in properties subject to a maintenance order to establish a time-limited sinking fund for future repairs and maintenance to communal areas.
Non-compliance with orders to repair within Housing Action Areas is dealt with by the local authority preventing further occupation of the house when the occupiers leave. We propose that power be given to local authorities to enforce repair notices by making it an offence for anyone to occupy the property after the original occupiers have sold or let it, until the notice is complied with. The offence could apply equally to the original owner and the new occupier, or solely to the new occupier, or it could be an offence to sell or let the property at all before the order is complied with.
Local authorities should be able to suspend a requirement for repair work where necessary, for instance where owners are infirm and cannot deal with it. This should only apply until the property is sold or let.
Local authorities should have powers to enter and inspect property adjacent to property under repair orders, when necessary to carry out works. In cases of obstruction they should have power to require temporary removal of an occupier to suitable alternative accommodation. We propose a new power to take control of property that is the subject of a notice requiring works to be carried out, where the owner cannot be identified or contacted.
There would be powers to carry out additional works necessary to return the building to reasonable repair and to allow the local authority to meet costs of work when owners will not contribute their share, with a charging order placed on these owners to pay costs when the property is sold.
Where a statutory notice including a maintenance order is served local authorities should have the right to inspect owners' insurance policies and be able to raise a civil action against occupiers without insurance cover.
The Tolerable Standard
The Tolerable Standard is a set of statutory minimum standards a dwelling must meet in order to be considered habitable. A house meets the Standard if it is structurally stable, has an adequate piped supply of wholesome water within the house, a water or waterless closet, fixed bath or shower with hot and cold water, adequate drainage, cooking facilities, adequate lighting, ventilation and heating, access to all external doors, and is substantially free from rising or penetrating damp.
We propose to extend the Tolerable Standard to include adequate thermal insulation and safe installations for supply, distribution and use of electrical power. An expert Advisory Group will produce guidance. We estimate around 6,000 dwellings currently fail the electrical safety standard and 63,000 fail to provide enough thermal insulation to bring them up to a National Home Energy Rating of 2.
We welcome views on the idea of requiring an action plan on below Tolerable Standard housing in local housing strategies and that promoting the improvement of housing condition and quality should be a specified purpose of the policy in local housing strategies.
Area renewal
Local authorities can declare a Housing Action Area where 50% of houses fail the Tolerable Standard. This gives them powers to improve or demolish such buildings. We propose to replace these powers with a more flexible power to declare a Housing Renewal Area (HRA) where there are concentrations of 50% or more of houses that fail the Tolerable Standard, are in serious disrepair, or are in a state of repair that may cause material damage or failure of market value to other properties, or a combination of these. Areas where market failure or decline is likely to affect the stability of the local community or housing condition or quality will also be eligible. We believe this will enable a more flexible and effective local authority response to problem areas of private housing.
In declaring an HRA local authorities will consider comments and views of residents, conduct public hearings where appropriate, and make alterations to their plan. They will have powers to act to address relevant issues and duties to keep residents informed of progress and provide suitable assistance.
Assistance to private owners
Though individuals are responsible for keeping their property in repair, we recognise that owners may need assistance in meeting these obligations. We propose to introduce a more flexible system of assistance by local authorities, ranging from advice to practical assistance to loans and grants. The test of resources for grants will continue to apply. Works eligible for assistance will be those that bring a house up to a defined standard, adaptations to meet needs of disabled people, and provision of fire precautions.
We will give local authorities the power to subsidise loans. Any conditions applied by the local authority in relation to subsidised loans and grants will apply for 10 years, and the authority will be able to make additional conditions to ensure continued maintenance. Restriction of subsidy to properties below a particular Council Tax Valuation Band will be removed, along with prohibition of subsidy to properties under 10 years old.
For some religious groups, certain forms of loan finance may not be acceptable. We would welcome views on this as part of this consultation.
Charging orders
Often repairs in the private sector are delayed by lack of funds. We propose that when local authorities pay for repairs and improvements to privately owned houses they will be able to recover costs by using a charging order. We propose to make charging orders more flexible, increasing the options available to local authorities in helping owners. They will effectively work as equity release mechanisms, securing a loan on a house and enabling recovery when the house is sold. They will be used only in certain circumstances, such as when a house is subject to a notice or order or when an owner is blocking works of maintenance or repair to a tenement properly agreed by the other owners.
QUESTIONS
Further copies of this document are available, on request, in audio and large print formats and in community languages, please contact:
David Gow
Policy Co-ordinator
Private Sector and Affordable Housing Policy Division
Scottish Executive
Area 1-H (South)
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH
EH6 6QQ
Tel: 0131 244 5592
email: housingconsultation@scotland.gsi.gov.uk