Housing (Scotland) Act 1950

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1950 c. 34


Housing (Scotland) Act, 1950

(14 Geo. 6) 34

An Act to consolidate the Housing (Scotland) Acts, 1925 to 1949, and certain other enactments relating to housing in Scotland.

[26th October 1950]

Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and D with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Housing (Scotland) Act,

Housing (Scotland) Act,

I Local Authorities for Purposes of this Act

Part I

Local Authorities for Purposes of this Act

S-1 Local authorities for purposes of this Act.

1 Local authorities for purposes of this Act.

1. For the purposes of this Act the local authority shall be—

a ) in the case of a burgh, the town council, and
b ) in the case of a county, the county council

and the district of the local authority shall be the burgh or the county (excluding all burghs therein), as the case may be.

S-2 Power of local authority to appoint committees.

2 Power of local authority to appoint committees.

2. A local authority may appoint a committee consisting of so many persons as they may think fit, for any purposes of this Act which in the opinion of the local authority would be better regulated and managed by means of a committee:

Provided that a committee so appointed shall consist as to a majority of its members of members of the appointing local authority, shall in no case be authorised to raise any money by rate or loan, and shall be subject to any regulations and restrictions which may be imposed by the appointing local authority.

II Provisions for Securing the Repair, Maintenance and Sanitary Condition of Houses

Part II

Provisions for Securing the Repair, Maintenance and Sanitary Condition of Houses

Obligations as to repair of houses

S-3 Conditions to be implied on letting houses for human habitation.

3 Conditions to be implied on letting houses for human habitation.

(1) In any contract for letting for human habitation a house at a rent not exceeding twenty-six pounds there shall, notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary, be implied a condition that the house is at the commencement of the tenancy, and an undertaking that the house will be kept by the landlord during the tenancy, in all respects reasonably fit for human habitation:

Provided that the condition and the undertaking aforesaid shall not be implied when a house is let for a period of not less than three years upon the terms that it will be put by the lessee into a condition in all respects reasonably fit for human habitation, and the lease is not determinable at the option of either party before the expiration of three years.

(2) The landlord, or any person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day, on giving twenty-four hours' notice in writing to the tenant or occupier, enter any premises to which this section applies for the purpose of viewing the state and condition thereof.

(3) In this section the expression ‘landlord’ means any person who lets to a tenant for human habitation any house under any contract referred to in this section, and includes his successors in title; and the expression ‘house’ includes part of a house.

(4) This section shall apply whether the contract was entered into before or after the commencement of this Act:

Provided that in the case of a house the rent whereof exceeds sixteen pounds this section shall not apply if the contract was entered into before the thirty-first day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-three.

S-4 Application of s. 3 to houses occupied by workmen engaged in agriculture.

4 Application of s. 3 to houses occupied by workmen engaged in agriculture.

(1) Notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, where under any contract of employment of a workman employed in agriculture the provision of a house, or part of a house, for the occupation of the workman forms part of the remuneration of the workman, and the provisions of the foregoing section are inapplicable by reason only of the house or part of the house not being let to the workman, there shall be implied as part of the contract of employment the like condition and undertaking as would be implied under those provisions if the house or part of the house were so let, and those provisions shall apply accordingly as if incorporated in this section, with the substitution of ‘employer’ for ‘landlord’ and such other modifications as may be necessary:

Provided that this section shall not affect the obligation of any person other than the employer to repair a house to which this section applies or any remedy for enforcing any such obligation.

(2) This section shall apply whether the contract of employment was entered into before or after the commencement of this Act.

S-5 Duty of county councils to require provision of waterclosets or earthclosets.

5 Duty of county councils to require provision of waterclosets or earthclosets.

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897, relating to sewers and drains, every local authority being a county council shall require the owner of every occupied house or part of a house occupied by a separate family within their district to provide for each such house or part of a house a sufficient watercloset wherever it is reasonably practicable so to do, and, where that is not so practicable, a sufficient earthcloset; and if the owner fails to carry out such requirement within three months after intimation thereof, the local authority may themselves execute the necessary work, and the expenses incurred by them in so doing may be recovered by them from the owner.

(2) Any watercloset provided under this section shall, where it is reasonably practicable, be provided inside the house or part thereof for which it is provided, or, where that is not reasonably practicable, in a position readily accessible therefrom.

(3) Any question which may arise under this section as to what is reasonably practicable shall be determined summarily by the sheriff who shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case, including the expense involved, and his decision shall be final.

(4) The provisions of subsection (4) of section eight of this Act (which relate to the recovery of certain expenses by instalments) shall apply to the recovery of expenses incurred by a local authority in themselves executing works under this section in like manner as they apply to the recovery of expenses incurred under subsection (1) of the said section eight.

(5) In this section the expression ‘owner’ has the like meaning as in the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897, and for the purposes of this section a landholder shall be deemed to be the owner of any house on his holding in respect of which he would, on the termination of his tenancy, be entitled to compensation under the Small Landholders (Scotland) Acts, 1886 to 1931, as for an improvement.

Duty of local authority in regard to inspection of houses

Duty of local authority in regard to inspection of houses

S-6 Duty of local authority to inspect their district and to keep records.

6 Duty of local authority to inspect their district and to keep records.

6. It shall be the duty of every local authority to cause an inspection of their district to be made from time to time with a view to ascertaining whether any house therein is unfit for human habitation, and for that purpose it shall be the duty of the local authority, and of every officer of the local authority, to comply with such regulations and to keep such records as the Secretary of State may prescribe.

Repair, demolition and closing of insanitary houses

Repair, demolition and closing of insanitary houses

S-7 Power of local authority to order execution of works on insanitary house.

7 Power of local authority to order execution of works on insanitary house.

(1) Where a local authority, on consideration of an official representation or a report by their sanitary inspector or other information in their possession, are satisfied that any house is in any respect unfit for human habitation but is capable at a reasonable expense of being rendered fit for human habitation, they shall serve upon the person having control of the house a notice requiring him, within such reasonable time, not being less than twenty-one days, as may be specified in the notice, to execute the works specified in the notice and stating that, in the opinion of the authority, those works will render the house fit for human habitation.

(2) In determining for the purposes of this Part of this Act whether a house can be rendered fit for human habitation at a reasonable expense, regard shall be had to the estimated cost of the works necessary to render it so fit and the value which it is estimated that the house will have when the works are completed.

(3) For the purposes of this Part of this Act the person who for the time being is entitled to receive, or would, if the same were let, be entitled to receive, the rent of the house, including a trustee, tutor, curator, factor or agent, shall be deemed to be the person having control of the house; and a landholder shall be deemed to be the owner and the person having control of any house on his holding in respect of which he would, on the termination of his tenancy, be entitled to compensation under the Small Landholders (Scotland) Acts, 1886 to 1931, as for an improvement.

S-8 Enforcement of notice requiring execution of works.

8 Enforcement of notice requiring execution of works.

(1) If a notice under the last foregoing section requiring the person having control of a house to execute works is not complied with, then, after the expiration of the time specified in the notice or, if an appeal has been made against the notice and the sheriff upon that appeal has confirmed the notice with or without variation, after the expiration of twenty-one days from the...

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