17/05/1929: The Housing Order, 1929.

DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH.

THE HOUSING ORDER, 1929.

THE HOUSING ACT, 1929 .

In exercise of the powers vested in me by the Housing Act, 1929 , I, the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, do by this my Order prescribe the following rules, regulations, conditions and other matters which are in the said Act referred to as being or to be prescribed or are required for carrying the said Act into effect, that is to say:—

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Housing Order, 1929.

(2) In this Order every expression shall, save where the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning as in the Act.

2. The conditions in respect of sites, aspects, planning, construction, sanitation and number per acre of houses set out in Schedule 1 to this Order, shall be the prescribed conditions under Rule 5 of the First Schedule to the Act, in relation to houses to which the Act applies:

Provided that—

(a) any of the said conditions may be dispensed with by the Minister in any particular case if he is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist which render rigid adherence to the condition undesirable;

(b) the Minister may in any such case where the said conditions are not fully complied with reduce the amount of the grant as he thinks fit.

3. The plans published by the Minister under the Housing (Building Facilities) Acts, 1924, and such other plans as may from time to time be published by the Minister and placed on sale shall be prescribed plans for houses under Rule 6 of the First Schedule to the Act.

4. The regulations set out in Schedule II. to this Order in regard to procedure shall be prescribed regulations and shall be complied with before and during the erection of a house to which the Act applies by the person or public utility society proposing to erect or erecting the same and by the appointed officer.

5. The forms set out in Schedule III. to this Order, or forms to the like effect varied as circumstances may require shall be prescribed forms and shall be used for the purposes to which they are respectively expressed to be applicable, in relation to houses to which the Act applies.

6. The date when the erection of a house is begun shall be deemed to be the date when the construction of the foundations is begun, notwithstanding any excavation, site-clearance, cartage of materials, or other preliminary work carried out prior to that date.

7. No grant shall be payable, notwithstanding the issue of a certificate of the appointed officer required by the Act or this Order that any of the provisions thereof have been complied with, until the Minister is satisfied after taking such steps as he may think desirable, as to the accuracy of such certificate.

8. (1) The floor area of a house, for the purposes of the Act and of this Order, shall be the sum of the areas of every floor, together with any porch or open space within the lines of the containing walls of the house which increases the bulk thereof.

(2) The area of any floor shall be measured within the external or containing walls of the house, and shall include any portion of such floor which is occupied by staircases, landings, interior walls, chimney-breasts, bay-windows and similar spaces or structures.

(3) The area of the floor of any room shall, for the purposes of this Order, be measured within the containing walls of such room.

9. A house for the purposes of the Act and of this Order may include a party wall of an existing building, but no other portion of an existing building.

10. Where a house is to contain or be connected with a shop, office, business premises, garage, or stable—

(a) the appointed officer shall not issue a certificate of approval in respect thereof unless such shop, office, business premises, garage or stable has a distinct and separate entrance;

(b) such shop, office, business premises, garage or stable shall be deemed not to be part of such house for the purposes of the Act and of this Order.

11. Any doubt, dispute, or question which may arise as to the interpretation of the rules, conditions and regulations by this Order prescribed and as to the making or the amount of a grant in respect of any house shall be determined by the Minister and such determination shall be final.

Given under My Official Seal, this Seventeenth

day of May in the Year of Our Lord, One

Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty-Nine.

(Signed) RISTEÁRD UA MAOLCHATHA,

Minister for Local Government and

Public Health.

SCHEDULE I.

Conditions prescribed by the Minister as to the site, aspect, planning, construction, sanitation and number per acre of houses to which the Act applies.

1.—The site of every house shall be on good open land and except where works of development are intended in connection with the house the site shall immediately adjoin or be accessible from a road or lane over which a public or private right of way exists for carts or other vehicles. The site shall be level or of easy regular gradient and situate at such elevation that the ground floor of the house will be above the level of the street, and that it may be easily drained and sewered when such is necessary.

2.—Every house shall be spaced and arranged on its site and planned so that the greater number of the rooms in it may receive all available direct sunlight.

3.—The houses shall be set back not less than 35 feet from the centre of the street or 70 feet from the opposite frontage whichever may be greater.

4.—The area of the floor of any room in a house shall not be less than the appropriate area set out hereunder:—

5.—Every room in a house shall, in respect of its height, comply with the following rules:—

(a) if the room is immediately below the roof, the height of the room throughout two-thirds of the area of the floor shall not be less than 8 feet and throughout the remainder of the area of the floor not less than 6 feet;

(b) if the room is not immediately below the roof, the height of the room throughout the area of the floor shall not be less than 8 feet.

6.—(1) Every house shall be constructed of brick, stone or concrete, with tiled or slated roof, unless the Minister approves of the use of some other material for the construction of a particular house or of particular houses and the standard of construction shall be in accordance with one of the specifications published with the prescribed plans or equivalent thereto.

Provided that the Minister may decide to make a grant in respect of a house of a special form of construction and shall determine in each case the amount of any grant which may be made in respect of any such house.

(2) Every room in every house shall be provided with a window or windows of which the glass area shall not be less than 1/10th of the area of the floor of such room and one-half at least of every window shall be made to open.

7.—(1) A house for which a sufficient water supply and means of drainage are available must be provided with a sink and water closet. Where sewers and watermains are not available a pail closet must be provided.

(2) A sanitary authority, where it appears to them desirable, may permit the drainage of not more than fourteen houses by one common drain and may allow more than one house to be supplied with water from one communicating pipe.

(3) In every case where sewers and watermains are available house drains to the line and description shown on the approved plans and described in the specification published with the prescribed plans shall be provided and water laid on to the house.

(4) Where one soil pipe serves two or more self-contained flats in any one building the trap of every water closet communicating therewith shall be connected also with an anti-syphonage pipe not less than 3" bore.

(5) Where drainage into a cess pool is provided the cess pool shall be water-tight, provided with a sealed cover and ventilated, and communication with the house drain shall be by a ventilated intercepting trap with cleaning arm. The cess pool shall not be less than sixty feet distant from any dwelling house.

8.—(1) In this Order the gross acreage of any site means the area of such site together with the portion of any street abutting on the same between the middle of such street and the nearest boundary of such site, measured in acres.

(2) Except with the consent of the Minister the number of houses on any site shall not exceed twenty for each acre of the gross acreage of such site, and except in special circumstances should not exceed twelve.

SCHEDULE II.

Procedure which must be followed in regard to houses to which the Act applies.

1.—Plans shall be submitted to the appointed officer in whose area the house is to be erected in the form required by the bye-laws (if any) in force with regard to new streets and buildings or by any local Act. In every case, whether bye-laws are in force or not, there shall be submitted to the appointed officer by the person or public utility society proposing to erect the house:—

(a) a block plan (in duplicate) to a scale of 1/500 or other scale of not less than 1 inch to 44 feet showing the lay-out, roads and sewers;

(b) complete plans and sections (in duplicate) of the proposed house to a scale of not less than 1 inch to 8 feet or where one of the prescribed plans is intended to be used a reference to the number of the plan and a statement as to which of the arrangements or constructions shown on such plan is to be followed;

(c) an undertaking in writing that the standard of construction will be in accordance with one of the specifications issued with the prescribed plans or equivalent thereto;

(d) where any form of construction, other than brick, stone, or concrete is proposed a description of the method to be adopted and an undertaking that the construction will be carried out strictly in the form approved and will comply with one of the specifications issued with the prescribed plans in so far as it is applicable;

(e) a certificate from the sanitary authority of the district in which the house is to be erected that such house is in conformity with any bye-laws of the sanitary authority or with any local Act in force in the said district with respect to new streets and buildings save in so far as such bye-laws or local Acts are at variance with the provisions of this Order.

2.—On receipt of such plans and other documents the appointed officer shall examine them and, subject to the compliance of the plans and documents with the provisions of the Act and of this Order, such appointed officer shall prepare, in triplicate, a certificate of approval in Form A under his hand. One copy of the certificate, accompanied by one set of the documents signed by the appointed officer shall be issued to the person or public utility society concerned, the remaining copies of the certificate shall be deposited forthwith with the Minister and the local authority respectively and the duplicate set of the documents shall be retained by the appointed officer.

3.—An appointed officer shall not issue a certificate of approval to a public utility society until such society has satisfied the Minister that it is a public utility society within the meaning of the Act.

4.—Where it is proposed to erect two or more self-contained flats in one building the appointed officer shall not issue a certificate of approval until the Minister has approved of the plans submitted.

5.—Where it is proposed to erect ten or more houses on one site the appointed officer shall not issue a certificate of approval until the Minister has approved of the block plan submitted.

6.—The person or public utility society to whom a certificate of approval is issued shall notify the Minister immediately when the erection of the house or houses referred to in the certificate is begun.

7.—When the house has been completed the person or public utility society erecting the house shall apply to the appointed officer who, if satisfied after an inspection of the house that the work has been completed in a proper and workmanlike manner with materials of sound quality and in accordance with the approved plans, shall issue a certificate of completion in Form B.

8.—When any person or public utility society erecting a house has received certificates in Forms A and B he shall forward such certificates to the Minister with a written application in Form C for the grant payable.

9.—If and when the Minister is satisfied that the requirements of the Act and of this Order have been complied with in respect of any house, he may make a grant under the Act in respect of such house, and shall in such case pay the amount thereof to the person or public utility society entitled thereto and notify the appointed officer and the local authority concerned that such grant has been made.

10.—Each appointed officer shall keep a register of certificates issued by him.

11.—In any case where the appointed officer is not a person employed by the Minister he may require the applicant to give an undertaking in writing to pay to him in respect of any expenses incurred by him in the examination of documents and any other work involved in connection with the application a fee not exceeding £l 1s. 0d. (one guinea) for each type of house for which separate plans are submitted, provided that where three or more houses are to be erected to the same plan a fee not exceeding 10s. 6d. (ten shillings and sixpence) per house may be charged. The fee will be payable to such appointed officer when application is made for the certificate of completion (Form B).

12.—(1) If an appointed officer refuses or neglects to issue any of the certificates required from him under the Act or this Order any person or public utility society aggrieved may appeal to the Minister.

(2) If any doubt, difficulty or dispute arises as to the issue of a certificate the matter may be referred by any of the parties concerned to the Minister whose decision shall be final.

SCHEDULE III.

FORMS.

FORM A.

THE HOUSING ACT, 1929 .

Serial No...................................

GRANTS TO PERSONS AND PUBLIC UTILITY SOCIETIES ERECTING HOUSES.

Certificate of approval of a proposal to erect house (s) under the Act.

NOTE: If the house (s) referred to in this certificate is (are) not begun within six months from the date hereof the certificate will become inoperative and if it is desired to proceed with the application the certificate must be returned to the Housing Department for renewal together with details of the circumstances in which the commencement of the work has been delayed.

FORM B.

THE HOUSING ACT, 1929 .

GRANTS TO PERSONS AND PUBLIC UTILITY SOCIETIES ERECTING HOUSES.

Certificate of completion of the erection of house(s) under the Act.

Serial No. of Certificate A...............................

NOTE.—The application for grant printed on the back of this form should be completed carefully by the person or public utility society to whom this certificate is issued and forwarded at once to the Minister for Local Government and Public Health with the certificate of approval (Form A) referred to above.

Name of Applicant............................................................ ..................................

Address............................................................ ........................

This is to certify that (each of) the house(s) set out in the Schedule below and

comprised in certificate A above referred to which was granted on  192 , by  ,

was/were inspected by me on     192  , and the house(s) was/were then completed in a proper and workmanlike manner and in compliance with the requirements of the Act and the Housing Order, 1929.

The house(s) is/are of entirely new construction and is/are in all respects fit for human habitation.

SCHEDULE.

*The particulars of locality and description must be sufficient for identification.

This certificate includes (does not include) all the houses comprised in certificate A referred to above.

Given under my hand this       day of  192.

Signed............................................

Appointed Officer.

County Borough of ......................................................

Urban District of ...........................................................

Rural District of ............................................................ 

In the County of ...........................................................

Town of ............................................................ ..............

FORM C.

THE HOUSING ACT, 1929 .

Application for grant in respect of the erection of (a) house(s) in accordance with the provisions of the Act, and the conditions prescribed thereunder.

To the Minister for Local Government and Public Health—

I/we being the person(s) (public utility society) to whom the accompanying Certificate A, numbered was granted by on   day of   192 , hereby make application for payment of a sum of £   , being the grant claimed by me/us under the Housing Act, 1929 , in respect of house(s) referred to in the foregoing certificate B, dated the    192 .

The house(s) has/have not been erected in accordance with a reinstatement condition within the meaning of section 10 of the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 .

The house(s) has/have not been erected on or on any part of the site of a building in respect of the destruction of which compensation has been awarded under the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 , or in respect of the destruction of which a report has been made under section 15 of that Act.

Signature (s) ............................................................ ..

............................................................ .

............................................................ .

Address ...............................................

......................................................

Date ...............................................

Housing Department,

Department of Local Government and Public Health, Dublin.

Name of Applicant............................................................ .....................

Address ............................................................ ......................................

This is to certify that I ............................................................ .................................. being an appointed officer for the purpose, have approved the site, block plan, house plans and method of construction proposed in respect of the house(s) described below:

That the site, plans and method of construction comply with the requirements prescribed by The Housing Order, 1929.

That the site of the house(s) is situate within the

Urban District of ..........................................................

County Borough of .......................................................

Rural District of ...........................................................

In the County of ...........................................................

Town of ............................................................ ..........

That subject to the conditions set out on the back of this certificate the person(s) (public utility society) named above appear(s) to me to be eligible for the grant which the Minister for Local Government and Public Health may make under the Act.

SCHEDULE.

Given under my hand this    day of     192 .

(Signed).........................................

Appointed Officer.

CONDITIONS.

(a) This certificate must be carefully preserved by the person or public utility society to whom it is granted, and must be sent to the Minister for Local Government and Public Health with the certificate for payment (Form B) issued in respect of the house(s) referred to herein.

(b) The person or public utility society to whom this certificate is granted must notify the Minister for Local Government and Public Health immediately when work is begun on the house(s) referred to herein.

(c) the erection of the house(s) must be begun after the first day of April, 1929;

(d) the house(s) must be completed in accordance with the approved plans before the thirty-first day of October, 1930, or within such further period not exceeding four months as the Minister may in any particular case allow, provided that where the time for completion is extended, the grant may be reduced;

(e) the house(s) when completed must be certified by an appointed officer (or on appeal) by the Minister, to have been completed in a proper and workmanlike manner;

(f) the house(s) shall not be (a) house(s) erected in accordance with a reinstatement condition within the meaning of Section 10 of the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 ;

(g) the house(s) shall not be erected on or on any part of the site of a building in respect of the destruction of which compensation has been awarded under the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 , or in respect of the destruction of which a report has been made under Section 15 of that Act;

(h) the house(s) must comply with all the requirements of the Housing Act, 1929 , and the Housing Order, 1929;

(i) the house(s) shall be open to inspection by the appointed officer or any other duly authorised officer of the Minister.