S.I. No. 336/1953 - Housing (Management and Letting) (Amendment) Regulations, 1953.


S.I. No. 336 of 1953.

HOUSING (MANAGEMENT AND LETTING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1953.

The Minister for Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1948 (No. 1 of 1948), the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950 (No. 25 of 1950) and the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1952 (No. 16 of 1952), and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations :—

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Housing (Management and Letting) (Amendment) Regulations, 1953.

(2) The Housing (Management and Letting) Regulations, 1950 ( S.I. No. 47 of 1950 ) and these Regulations shall be read and construed as one and may be cited together as the Housing (Management and Letting) Regulations, 1950 and 1953.

2. The Housing (Management and Letting) Regulations, 1950 ( S.I. No. 47 of 1950 ) shall be amended as follows:—

(a) by the addition at the end of the definition of " reserved house " of the following words : " or under section 18 of the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950 (No. 25 of 1950) " ;

(b) in Article 2 thereof the following shall be substituted for the definition of the expression " member of the special class ":—

the expression " member of the special class " means a person with a family living—

(i) in overcrowded conditions where one or more than one member of the family is suffering from tuberculosis ;

(ii) in a one-roomed dwelling where one or more than one member of the family is suffering from tuberculosis or where one or more than one member of the family (exclusive of the parents) has attained the age of twelve years ; or

(iii) in a dwelling which has been condemned as unfit for human habitation ;

(c) in Article 2 thereof the following additional definition shall be inserted :—

the expression " overcrowded conditions " means conditions in which at any time the number of persons ordinarily sleeping in a house or cottage intended or used for occupation by the working classes or agricultural labourers and the number of rooms in the house or cottage either—

(i) are such that any two of those persons being persons twelve years old or more of opposite sexes and not being persons living together as husband and wife must sleep in the same room; or

(ii) are such that the free air space, in any room used as a sleeping apartment, for any person is less than four hundred cubic feet (the height of the room, if it exceeds eight feet, being taken to be eight feet, for the purpose of calculating free air space) ;

(d) sub-articles (1) and (2) of Article 7 thereof shall be deleted and in lieu thereof the following shall be inserted :—

(1) The rent of any premises provided by a housing authority shall not be less than such sum as may from time to time be approved by the Minister together, where appropriate, with such increase in respect of rates as may be required by section 9 of the Local Government (Rates on Small Dwellings) Act, 1928 (No. 4 of 1928).

(2) Where a differential or graded rent scheme approved by the Minister applies to any premises provided by a housing authority, the housing authority may, from time to time, reduce or increase the rent of such premises in accordance with such scheme.

(e) Part III thereof shall be deleted and in lieu thereof the following shall be inserted :—

PART III

RESERVED HOUSES

13. This Part of these Regulations shall apply only to reserved houses.

14. The number of reserved houses to be provided by a housing authority shall be such number as the housing authority shall, from time to time, with the approval of the Minister, determine in respect of their functional area.

15. No expense or liability shall be incurred by a housing authority in or in connection with the provision of reserved houses except in pursuance of a scheme for such houses which has been made by the housing authority and approved by the Minister under these Regulations.

16. A scheme for the provision of reserved houses shall be in such form as may, from time to time, be approved by the Minister.

17. The type of reserved house to be provided for a scheme shall be in general accordance with the requirements of the Schedule to these Regulations.

18. Tenants for reserved houses shall be selected in accordance with the following rules:—

(i) A letting of a reserved house shall be made only to an applicant who is—

(a) a man who produces to the housing authority satisfactory evidence of having been married within a period of two years prior to the date of the said letting ; or

(b) an elderly person ;

(ii) in selecting a tenant for a reserved house, regard shall be had to the character, industry, occupation, family circumstances and existing housing conditions of the applicant ;

(iii) where a number of applicants for a reserved house are, in the opinion of the housing authority, equally entitled to be selected as tenants, the tenant shall be selected from such applicants by lot.

19. A tenant of a reserved house selected in accordance with paragraph (a) of rule (i) of the foregoing Article shall not ordinarily be allowed to continue in occupation of the house for more than five years.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Local Government this Sixth day of November, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty-three.

PATRICK SMITH,

Minister for Local Government.