Office of Public Sector Information
PART 1 continued CHAPTER 6 continued
(1) Subsection (3) applies where—
(a) the owners of two or more houses which form part of the same premises are responsible by virtue of a real burden or otherwise for maintaining any part of those premises and—
(i) those owners are required to carry out any such maintenance (whether in implementation of a maintenance plan or otherwise), or
(ii) a majority of those owners agree to carry out any such maintenance,
(b) notice has been served on each owner responsible for that maintenance requiring the owner to deposit a sum into a maintenance account representing the apportioned share of the estimated costs for which that owner will be liable,
(c) an owner on whom such a notice is served has not complied with such a requirement, and
(d) the local authority is satisfied as to the matters set out in subsection (2).
(2) Those matters are—
(a) that the maintenance proposed is, having regard to the state of repair of the premises, reasonable,
(b) that the share of estimated costs apportioned to the owner who has not complied with the requirement does not conflict with any provision about liability for or apportionment of costs contained in—
(i) any real burdens encumbering the houses concerned,
(ii) the development management scheme in so far as it applies to those houses or any decision made under that scheme, or
(iii) the tenement management scheme in so far as it applies to those houses or any decision made under that scheme, and
(c) that—
(i) the owner who has not complied with the requirement is unable to do so,
(ii) it is unreasonable to require that owner to deposit the sum in question, or
(iii) that owner cannot, by reasonable inquiry, be identified or found.
(3) Where this subsection applies the local authority may, on the application of any of the owners concerned, deposit in the maintenance account a sum representing the share of the estimated costs of any owner who has not complied with a requirement to make such a deposit.
(4) Before deciding to make a deposit under subsection (3), the local authority may request the owner who has failed to comply to make representations to the authority, by such date as the authority may specify, about the owner’s financial circumstances.
(5) A notice of the type referred to in subsection (1)(b) must set out—
(a) the maintenance which is to be carried out,
(b) the timetable for carrying out the maintenance, including proposed commencement and completion dates,
(c) the date of any requirement or agreement to carry out the maintenance; and, in the case of an agreement, the names of those by whom it was agreed,
(d) the estimated cost of the maintenance,
(e) why the estimate is considered reasonable,
(f) the apportioned share of the estimated costs attributable to each of the owners,
(g) how that apportionment is arrived at,
(h) the location and number of the maintenance account, and
(i) the date by which the owners are required to deposit the sum representing their respective apportioned shares in the maintenance account.
(7) This section is without prejudice to any other entitlement of the owner of any house to recover sums from an owner who has not complied with a requirement set out in a notice of the type mentioned in subsection (1)(b).
(8) The local authority must have regard to any guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers about the exercise of its functions under this section.
(9) The Scottish Ministers may vary or revoke any such guidance.
The local authority may pay grants in respect of any expenses incurred in connection with the opening, winding up or closure of a maintenance account.
(1) This section applies to any tenancy of a house let for human habitation (other than a Scottish secure tenancy or a short Scottish secure tenancy).
(2) The tenant in a tenancy to which this section applies may carry out any work in the house—
(a) which the tenant considers necessary for the purpose of making the house suitable for the accommodation, welfare or employment of any disabled person who occupies, or intends to occupy, the house as a sole or main residence, or
(b) in respect of which a grant is payable in accordance with regulations made under section 15(1)(a) (grants for improving energy efficiency of houses) of the Social Security Act 1990 (c. 27).
(3) But a tenant is not entitled to exercise the right set out in subsection (2) without the consent of the landlord, which must not be unreasonably withheld.
(4) An application for consent to carry out work in pursuance of subsection (2) must specify the work which the tenant proposes to carry out.
(5) The landlord may, on receipt of such an application—
(a) consent,
(b) consent subject to such reasonable conditions as the landlord may impose, or
(c) refuse consent, provided that it is not refused unreasonably.
(6) The landlord must, within one month of receipt of such an application, serve notice of the landlord’s decision on the applicant.
(7) That notice must—
(a) where the landlord gives consent subject to conditions, set out those conditions and the reasons for imposing them,
(b) where the landlord refuses consent, set out the reason for refusal, and
(c) in either of those cases, explain the procedure for appealing the decision to impose conditions or, as the case may be, refuse consent.
(8) Where a landlord fails to comply with subsection (6)—
(a) the landlord is to be treated as having decided to refuse consent, and
(b) notice of such refusal is to be treated as having been served on the applicant on the last day of the period mentioned in that subsection.
(9) The terms of a tenancy, and of any other agreement between the landlord and the tenant in any tenancy, are of no effect in so far as they purport to negate or modify the effect of this section.
(10) Nothing in this section entitles a tenant to carry out work for which the consent or other approval of any person is required under any other enactment unless that consent or approval has been given.
(11) Where it is for the landlord to obtain any such consent or approval, the landlord must, if requested to do so by the tenant, take reasonable steps for the purposes of doing so (and may recover any expenses incurred in doing so from the tenant).
(12) But the need for any such consent or approval by any person other than the landlord is not, of itself, a reasonable ground on which the landlord may impose any condition under subsection (5)(b) or, as the case may be, refuse consent under subsection (5)(c).
(1) The landlord may, in considering whether it is reasonable to consent to an application to carry out work in pursuance of section 52(2)(a) (or whether it is reasonable to impose a condition on such a consent), have regard to—
(a) the disabled person’s disability,
(b) whether the work proposed is necessary for the purpose set out in section 52(2)(a),
(c) the safety of the occupiers of the house or of any other premises,
(d) any costs which the landlord is likely to incur, directly or indirectly, as a result of the proposed work,
(e) whether the proposed work is likely—
(i) to reduce the value of the house or of any other part of any premises of which the house forms part, or
(ii) to make the house or any other part of such premises less suitable for letting or for sale,
(f) whether, if the proposed work was to be carried out, the house could be reinstated to the condition it was in before it was carried out,
(g) any code of practice issued by the Disability Rights Commission which relates to this section or section 52.
(2) The landlord may, in considering whether it is reasonable to consent to an application to carry out work in pursuance of section 52(2)(b) (or whether it is reasonable to impose a condition on such a consent), have regard to the matters mentioned in paragraphs (c) to (f) of subsection (1).
(3) A condition imposed under section 52(5)(b) may—
(a) specify the standard to which the work consented to must be carried out,
(b) require the tenant to reinstate the house at the end of the tenancy to the condition it was in before that work was carried out.
(4) The landlord must, in considering whether to impose a condition under section 52(5)(b) as to the standard to which the proposed work must be carried out, have regard to—
(a) the age and condition of the house, and
(b) the likely cost of complying with the condition.
(5) It is reasonable for a landlord to refuse to consent to an application to carry out work in pursuance of section 52(2), or to impose any condition on such a consent, if the carrying out of the proposed work or, as the case may be, failure to comply with that condition, would make the landlord susceptible under any enactment or rule of law to any sanction or other remedy.
(6) Subsection (5) applies only where the landlord has taken reasonable steps for the purposes of acquiring the right to give consent or, as the case may be, not to impose the condition without making the landlord so susceptible.
(7) The landlord may recover from the tenant any expenses incurred by the landlord in taking any such reasonable steps (regardless of the landlord’s decision on the tenant’s application).
In Paragraph 8 of schedule 5 to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 10)—
(a) the word “and” which follows paragraph (c) is repealed,
(b) at the end of paragraph (d) insert “and
(e) any code of practice issued by the Disability Rights Commission which relates to this Part.”.
A local authority may carry out, or arrange for the carrying out of, any work or demolition which any other person is required or authorised by or under this Part to carry out (but only by agreement with, and at the expense of, that other person).
(1) Where—
(a) a person moves from any house for the purposes of enabling any person to carry out any work required or authorised by or under this Part (whether in pursuance of a requirement under section 37(1) or a warrant under section 38(4) or otherwise), and
(b) that person resides in the house under a tenancy or an occupancy arrangement,
the tenancy or occupancy arrangement, if that person so chooses, is to be taken not to have terminated, varied or altered by reason of that person moving.
(2) If a person who has so moved resumes lawful occupation, the same terms apply (except so far as otherwise agreed) in respect of that occupation as applied in respect of the previous occupation.
(3) In this section “lawful occupation” means occupation which is not an offence under section 39.
(1) This section applies if, after receiving notice of the intended action, any person prevents or obstructs any other person from doing anything which that other person is by or under this Part required, authorised or entitled to do.
(2) Where this section applies, the sheriff may order the person who prevented or obstructed another person to permit that other person to do all things which the other person reasonably requires to do for the purposes of—
(a) complying with any requirement imposed by or under this Part, or
(b) doing anything which that other person is by or under this Part authorised or entitled to do.
(3) Any person who fails to comply with such an order is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(4) This section does not apply in relation to rights conferred by Part 9 (except the right conferred by section 181(4)(a)).
(1) This section applies to a building which is—
(a) included in a list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest, being a list compiled or approved under section 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 (c. 9) (“the 1997 Act”),
(b) subject to a building preservation notice under section 3 of the 1997 Act, or
(c) one to which section 66 of the 1997 Act (control of demolition in conservation areas) applies.
(2) The local authority must, before it carries out any work in, or demolishes, any house which is, or which forms part of, a building to which this section applies in pursuance of section 35 or 36, consult—
(a) the Scottish Ministers,
(b) the planning authority (where the planning authority is not the local authority), and
(c) such other persons as the local authority thinks fit.
(3) Any authorisation or requirement under this Part to demolish or carry out work in or in relation to a building to which this section applies has effect only in so far as it is not inconsistent with any provision of the 1997 Act.
(1) The local authority may recover any—
(a) expenses it incurs in carrying out any work authorised by section 35,
(b) expenses it incurs in pursuance of section 49(1), or
(c) payments made under section 50(3),
from the owner of the house concerned.
(2) The local authority may recover any expenses it incurs in carrying out any work authorised by section 36 from the landlord concerned.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) entitle the local authority to recover—
(a) any administrative expenses incurred by it in connection with the act to which the expenses relate or, as the case may be, with the making of the payment, and
(b) interest, at such reasonable rate as it may determine, from the date when a demand for payment is served until the whole amount is paid.
(4) The local authority may declare any sums recoverable under this section to be payable by instalments.
(5) Notice of any such declaration must be served on the person from whom the sums are recoverable.
(6) A local authority is not, despite the generality of subsection (1)(a), entitled to recover any expenses incurred in demolishing a house it has acquired under section 40.
(1) A person who is required to carry out work by—
(a) a work notice, or
(b) a repairing standard enforcement order,
may apply for certification that the work has been completed.
(2) An application under subsection (1) is to be made—
(a) where it is made in consequence of a work notice, to the local authority, or
(b) where it is made in consequence of a repairing standard enforcement order, to the private rented housing committee which made the order.
(3) Where the work was carried out by the local authority under section 35 or 36, an application under this section is not competent unless the applicant has paid any expenses demanded by the local authority under section 59 in relation to that work.
(4) The local authority or, as the case may be, the committee must grant the certificate applied for if satisfied that the work required by the notice or order has been completed.
(5) A private rented housing committee may, of their own accord—
(a) inspect any house in respect of which they have made a repairing standard enforcement order, and
(b) if they are satisfied that the work required by the order has been completed, certify that the work has been completed,
but the committee may not exercise their power under this subsection unless the period within which the order requires the work to be carried out has ended.
(1) Each—
(a) repairing standard enforcement order,
(b) notice of a decision to vary or revoke a repairing standard enforcement order,
(c) certificate granted by a private rented housing committee under section 60,
(d) maintenance order,
(e) maintenance plan approved, devised or varied under this Part, and
(f) notice of revocation of a maintenance plan,
must be registered in the appropriate land register.
(2) It is for the private rented housing committee which made the repairing standard enforcement order concerned to register documents falling within paragraph (a) to (c) of subsection (1).
(3) It is for the local authority to register documents falling within paragraph (d) to (f) of subsection (1).
(4) The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland is not required to investigate or determine the accuracy of any information contained in any document falling within paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (1) which is submitted for registration.
(5) In section 12(3) (exemptions from indemnification by Keeper) of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 (c. 33), after paragraph (q) insert—
“(r) the loss arises in consequence of an inaccuracy in any information contained in any document registered in pursuance of section 61(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (asp 1).”.
(1) The section applies to the following documents—
(a) work notices,
(b) notices under section 31(3), 32(2) or 34(3),
(c) demolition notices,
(d) notices under section 35(3),
(e) maintenance orders,
(f) notices of decisions under section 46(1), and
(g) notices of variation or revocation of maintenance plans.
(2) A document to which this section applies must be served on—
(a) the owner and occupier of the house concerned,
(b) any creditor holding a standard security over that house,
(c) any person who, directly or indirectly, receives rent in respect of that house, and
(d) any other person appearing to the local authority to have an interest in that house,
and the document is to be treated as being served or, as the case may be, made on the day on which the document is served on the owner of the house.
(3) Failure to comply with any of paragraphs (b) to (d) of subsection (2) does not invalidate the document concerned if the local authority, after exercising its powers under section 186(1), is not aware of the existence of the person on whom the document should have been served.
(1) Unless this section provides otherwise, any order, notice, requirement, application, consent or other document served, submitted, given or made, or any other decision made, under this Part has effect from the date on which the document or, as the case may be, notice of the document or decision is served.
(2) Subsection (3) applies where a decision to—
(a) make or vary a repairing standard enforcement order,
(b) serve a work notice or a demolition notice,
(c) make a maintenance order, or
(d) approve, devise, vary or revoke a maintenance plan,
is appealed under section 64.
(3) Where this subsection applies—
(a) the effect of the decision and of the order, notice, plan, variation or revocation made in consequence of it is suspended until the appeal is abandoned or finally determined, and
(b) where the appeal is abandoned or finally determined by confirming the decision, the decision and the order, notice, plan, variation or revocation made in consequence of it are to be treated as having effect from the day on which the appeal is abandoned or so determined.
(4) A—
(a) rent relief order, or
(b) revocation of such an order,
has effect from the date set out in subsection (5).
(5) That date is the date which is 28 days after—
(a) the last date on which the decision to make or, as the case may be, revoke the rent relief order may be appealed under section 64, or
(b) where such an appeal is made, the date on which the appeal is abandoned or finally determined (by confirming the decision).
(6) A repairing standard enforcement order does not cease to have effect where work required by the order would, but for the order, no longer require to be carried out.
(7) No work may be done or proceedings taken under any order, notice or plan to which subsection (2) or (4) applies, and no requirement to register any such order, notice or plan has effect, until—
(a) the last date on which the decision to make it may be appealed, or
(b) where such an appeal is made, the date on which the appeal is abandoned or finally determined (by confirming the decision).
(8) References in this section to the date on which an appeal is finally determined are to be read as references—
(a) where the sheriff’s determination on the appeal is final, to the date on which the sheriff determines the appeal,
(b) where the sheriff’s determination may be appealed to the sheriff principal—
(i) to the last date on which such an appeal may be made, or
(ii) where such an appeal is made, to the date on which the appeal is abandoned or determined by the sheriff principal.
(9) A reference in this section to the last date on which a decision may be appealed is, where that date is in any case changed under section 64(7), to be read as referring to the new date only if the change is made before the date on which the right to appeal would otherwise expire.
(1) Any person aggrieved by a decision by a local authority—
(a) to serve a work notice,
(b) to serve a demolition notice,
(c) to carry out work in pursuance of—
(i) section 35(1)(b), or
(ii) section 36(1)(b),
other than, in either case, work for which no notice is required,
(d) to demand recovery of any expenses incurred in carrying out work authorised by—
(i) section 35, or
(ii) section 36,
(e) to serve a maintenance order,
(f) to approve or devise a maintenance plan or to vary or revoke such a plan, or
(g) to refuse to grant a certificate under section 60 in relation to any work required by a work notice,
may appeal to the sheriff within 21 days of the date specified in subsection (2).
(2) That date is—
(a) in the case of an appeal under paragraph (a), (b), (d) or (e) of subsection (1), the date on which the work notice, demolition notice, demand for recovery of expenses or, as the case may be, maintenance order is served on the appellant,
(b) in the case of an appeal under paragraph (c) or (g) of subsection (1), the date on which notice of proposed work or, as the case may be, of the decision to refuse to grant the certificate is served on the appellant, or
(c) in the case of an appeal under paragraph (f) of subsection (1), the date on which notice of the approval, devising, variation or revocation is served on the appellant.
(3) An appeal under subsection (1) may be made only by a person on whom the relevant work notice, notice of proposed work, demand for recovery of expenses, maintenance order or, as the case may be, notice of the approval, devising, variation or revocation of a maintenance plan is served under this Act.
(4) A landlord or a tenant aggrieved by a decision by a private rented housing committee—
(a) under section 24(1) (decision on a tenant’s application),
(b) to vary or revoke a repairing standard enforcement order (see section 25),
(c) that a landlord has failed to comply with a repairing standard enforcement order (see section 26(1)),
(d) to make or not to make a rent relief order (see section 26(2)(b)),
(e) to revoke a rent relief order (see section 27(4)), or
(f) to grant, or to refuse to grant, a certificate under section 60 in relation to any work required by a repairing standard enforcement order,
may appeal to the sheriff within 21 days of being notified of that decision.
(5) A tenant may appeal to the sheriff against a decision by the president of the private rented housing panel under section 23(1) within 21 days of being notified of that decision.
(6) A tenant aggrieved by a decision by a landlord—
(a) to impose any condition on a consent to carry out work in pursuance of section 52(2), or
(b) to refuse to consent to the carrying out of any such work,
may appeal to the sheriff within 6 months of being notified of that decision.
(7) The sheriff may, on cause shown, hear an appeal after the deadline set by subsection (1), (4), (5) or, as the case may be, (6).
(1) The sheriff, in determining an appeal under 64(1), may—
(a) confirm the decision (and any work notice, demolition notice, demand for recovery of expenses or maintenance order served, or maintenance plan approved, devised or varied, in consequence of it),
(b) quash the decision (and any such notice, demand, order or plan), or
(c) make such other order as the sheriff thinks just.
(2) The sheriff may determine an appeal under section 64(4) or (5) by—
(a) confirming the decision (and any order or variation made, or certificate granted, in consequence of it),
(b) remitting the decision (together with the sheriff’s reasons for doing so) to the president or, as the case may be, the committee for reconsideration, or
(c) quashing the decision (and any order or variation made, or certificate granted, in consequence of it).
(3) The sheriff must, unless the sheriff considers the condition or, as the case may be, refusal appealed against to be reasonable, determine an appeal under section 64(6) by quashing the decision and directing the landlord to withdraw the condition (or to vary it in such manner as the sheriff may specify) or, as the case may be, to consent to the application (with or without such conditions as the sheriff may specify).
(4) In determining whether a condition or refusal appealed against under section 64(6) is reasonable, the sheriff must, where the appeal relates to an application made for the purposes of section 52(2)(a), have regard to any code of practice issued by the Disability Rights Commission which relates to section 52 or 53.
(5) The sheriff’s determination on an appeal under section 64 is final (subject to subsection (6)).
(6) The sheriff’s determination on an appeal under paragraph (a), (b), (c)(i), (d)(i) or (g) of section 64(1) may be appealed to the sheriff principal within 21 days of the sheriff’s determination; and the sheriff principal’s decision on any such appeal is final.
(1) An appeal under section 64 is to be made by summary application.
(2) No question may be raised on an appeal under section 64(1)(c)(i), (d)(i) or (g) (or on a subsequent appeal to the sheriff principal) which might have been raised on an appeal against the decision to make the work notice or demolition notice to which the appeal relates.
(3) No question may be raised on an appeal under subsection (1)(c)(ii) or (d)(ii), or subsection (4)(d), (e) or (f), of section 64 which might have been raised on an appeal against the decision under section 24(1) in consequence of which the repairing standard enforcement order to which the appeal relates was made.
(4) The sheriff may make such order about the expenses of an appeal under section 64 as the sheriff thinks fit (and the sheriff principal may make such an order in relation to any subsequent appeal).
Housing (Scotland) Act 2006