Local Authorities Housing

Local Authorities Housing AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE VESTING IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES OF CERTAIN HOUSES BUILT ON CROWN LANDS; TO GIVE POWER TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO LET SUCH HOUSES ON TERMS WHICH WILL ENABLE THE TENANTS TO BECOME OWNERS THEREOF; TO CONSTITUTE ADVISORY BOARDS TO GIVE ADVICE TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES ON HOUSING SCHEMESAND OTHER MATTERS; AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO. Short title and date of operation. 1. This Act may be cited as the Local Authorities Housing Act, No. 14 of 1964, and shall come into operation on such date (hereafter in this Act referred to as the “appointed date”*) as the Minister may appoint by Order published in the Gazette. Vesting of certain houses constructed on Crown lands in local authorities. 2. (1) With effect from the appointed date every house which on or before that date was constructed for the housing of one or more working or middle-class family or families on Crown land situated within the administrative limits of any local authority out of funds provided wholly by the Government, or partly by the Government and partly by that local authority, shall, together with the land appertaining thereto, vest in that local authority. (2) Upon the construction after the appointed date of any house on Crown land situated within the administrative limits of any local authority for the housing of one or more working or middle-class family or families, the Minister shall by a vesting Order vest in that local authority that house and the land appertaining thereto. (3) The preceding provisions of this section shall not apply to any house constructed or to be constructed on Crown land within the administrative limits of any-local authority by the Department of National Housing or any other Government Department. Power of local authority to let houses to persons on terms which enable them to become owners of such houses. 3. (1) Subject as hereinafter provided, a local authority may, either upon a resolution passed in that behalf at a duly constituted meeting of that local authority or upon the direction of the Minister, let to any person any house- (a) which has vested in that local authority under section 2; or (b) which has been, or may be, constructed by that local authority within the administrative limits of that local authority for the purpose of residence, on such terms as will enable that person to become the owner of that house and the land appertaining thereto after making certain number of monthly payments as rent. (2) In determining the person to whom a house to which this Act applies shall be let under subsection (1), the local authority shall have regard primarily to the interests of persons requiring housing accommodation, and shall in particular have regard to the following considerations, that is to say, that the house should be let at a reasonable rent to a person who is a citizen of Ceylon and whose name appears in the electoral list prepared for the general election of members of that local authority. (3) Where any person is in occupation as a tenant of any house to which this Act applies, the local authority within the administrative limits of which such house is situated shall not let such house to any other person under the provisions of subsection (1) – (a) except with the prior approval of the Advisory Board constituted for that local authority under this Act; and (b) unless six months’ notice in writing is given by that local authority to the first-mentioned person of its intention to so let such house to some other person. Special provisions regarding value of house for the purposes of determining rent. 4. Where any house to which this Act applies is let by a local authority under the provisions of section 3 (1) to a person who is at the time of such letting in occupation of such house as a tenant, the local authority shall, in the determination of the amount payable by such person by way of rent upon such letting, set off against the value of that house at the date of such letting a sum calculated at the rate of one per centum of the valuation of that house for each year of occupation or part thereof by such person prior to the date of such letting. Payment of deposits. 5. (1) No house to which this Act applies shall be let to any person under the provisions of section 3 (1) unless such person pays to the credit of the local fund of that local authority a deposit of such sum as may be determined by that local authority. (2) The deposit paid under subsection (1) or any part thereof may be forfeited if the person by whom such deposit was made commits a breach of any condition subject to which the house was let to him. Advisory Boards. 6. (1) For each area within the administrative limits of a local authority, there shall be constituted an Advisory Board consisting of- (a) if the local authority is a Municipal Council, the Mayor, or in his absence, the Deputy Mayor, or if the local authority is other than a Municipal Council, the Chairman, or in his absence, the Vice-Chairman of that local authority; (b) the Medical Officer of Health, or the officer in charge of the sanitation, of the local authority; (c) the Assistant Commissioner of Local Government of the Region in which the local authority is situated; (d) if the local authority is a Municipal Council, the Government Town Planner or his authorized representative, or, if the local authority is other than a Municipal Council, the Executive Engineer for the area within the administrative limits of that local authority; and (e) a member of that local authority elected to serve on the Advisory Board on a resolution passed in that behalf at a duly constituted meeting of that local authority. (2) An Advisory Board shall advise the local authority on all matters relating to the execution of housing schemes by that local authority and to the determination of the persons to whom houses to which this Act applies shall be let and on any other matter on which the local authority requires advice. (3) A local authority shall act on the advice of the Advisory Board and any disagreement on any matter between the local authority and the Board shall be referred to the Minister for his decision and such decision shall be binding on the local authority. Housing Extension Fund. 7. (1) A local authority shall have a fund called the Housing Extension Fund. (2) There shall be paid into the Housing Extension Fund- (a) all sums received as rent by the letting of houses to which this Act applies; and (b) any sum allocated by the Government by way of grant to that local authority for housing projects, or any sum raised by way of loan by that local authority for such projects or voted by that local authority for such projects, or any sum paid by way of donation to that local authority for such projects. (3) No sum shall be paid out of the Housing Extension Fund except on the advice of the Advisory Board. Expenses of letting houses under this Act. 8. All expenses incurred by a local authority in the letting of houses to which this Act applies shall be a charge on the local fund of that authority. Duty of tenants to vacate houses on termination of occupation. 9. (1) The occupier of any house to which this Act applies and his dependants shall not be entitled to occupy such house after the date of the lawful termination of his occupation thereof; and accordingly the occupier shall on that date vacate the house, deliver possession thereof to the local authority within the administrative limits of which such house is situated, and together with his dependants, if any, depart from the land on which the house is situated. Cap. 401. (2) In any case where the occupier of any house to which this Act applies fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1), the provisions of Part V of the National Housing Act relating to the recovery of possession of houses shall mutatis mutandis apply in relation to such house, subject to the following modifications, namely, that the expression ” landlord ” in that Part shall have the meaning “local authority within the administrative limits of which the house is situated “, and the expression ” house to which this Part applies ” in that Part shall have the meaning ” house to which this Act applies”. Signing of documents on behalf of local authority. 10. The Mayor of a Municipal Council or his representative or, in the case of any other local authority, the Chairman of that local authority is hereby authorized to sign on behalf of that local authority all documents required to be signed or executed in the exercise, discharge or performance by that local authority under this Act of any powers, functions or duties. Regulations. 11. (1) The Minister may make regulations in respect of the following matters: – (a) the conditions subject to which any house to which this Act applies shall be let to any person; (b) the documents which have to be signed and executed by the local authority and the person to whom such house is let at the commencement of such letting and when such person becomes the owner thereof; (c) the circumstances under which the tenancy of such person shall be terminated by the local authority; (d) the conditions under which title to such house shall pass to the person [to whom such house is let; (e) the procedure relating to the meetings of an Advisory Board; and (f) any other matter which appears to be necessary for the purposes of this Act. (2) No regulation made by the Minister shall have effect until it is approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives and notification of such approval is published in the Gazette. Every regulation so approved shall be valid and effectual as though it were herein enacted. Interpretation. 12. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- ” house ” includes a flat; “house to which this Act applies” means- (a) any house which has vested in a local authority under section 2 of this Act, or (b) any house which has been, or may be, constructed by a local authority for the purpose of residence within the administrative limits of that local authority; and ” local authority” means any Municipal Council, Urban Council, Town Council or Village Council.