90. The existing framework of powers in respect of individual BTS properties should be retained. 91. Section 88 (4) of the Housing Scotland Act 1987 should be amended to provide an additional power for a Local Authority to take entry to a property subject to an Improvement Order that has not been complied with and carry out such works as are necessary to bring the property up to the Tolerable Standard and any other such works that are required to ensure that the property is in a reasonable state of repair, having regard to its age, character and location. Powers and options to recover expenditure incurred through the use of this power should be the same as those in respect of a repair notice. 92. The powers to serve and enforce notices on properties in a condition of serious disrepair set out in section 108 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 should be extended to allow the serving of a notice in respect of defects arising from a lack of maintenance that do not amount to disrepair but if left un-addressed could result in disrepair. 93. A new power should be created to allow the serving of a maintenance order on any building or group of buildings and associated land and which comprises or includes a dwelling. Such an order should have the effect of requiring the owners to submit to the authority for approval, and operate, a maintenance plan for the building and any associated garden ground, boundary fences or walls or access ways including un-adopted streetlights, roadways, footpaths or other services.
A local authority should have the power to reject or amend a plan and where appropriate to require the appointment of a property manager. Where owners fail to submit an acceptable maintenance plan or fail to operate an approved plan the local authority should have a power to put in place and operate such a scheme and to recover costs. Such a notice should be recorded with the titles of the property in the Land Register or Register of Sasines as appropriate. 94. The mandatory entitlement to grant aid for owners of buildings subject to notices requiring repairs or improvements should be removed and replaced with a provision for mandatory "assistance". The nature of the assistance provided should be determined by the local authority according to the means (including free equity) of the owner and should not automatically be in the form of grant. 95. Any entitlement to mandatory assistance should not extend to successors in title. That is, where a property subject to a notice is sold or ownership changes by any other means, there should be no entitlement to assistance on the part of the new owner. The local authority should retain the option of making assistance available on a discretionary basis where this is felt to be appropriate. 96. Where a notice for an individual property has not been complied with at the point at which the occupants of the property at the time the notice was served remove from the property, it should be an offence for any other individuals either to occupy the property or to allow or cause it to be occupied until such time as the notice has been complied with (similar to the offence created under the Closing Order provisions). The local authority should have the option to use this "suspensive" approach to enforcement where it considers it to be appropriate. The notice should also carry powers to control the occupancy of any property similar to those for the control of occupancy set in section 97 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. 97. There should be a procedure for notifying the local authority that a notice has been complied with and a requirement on the authority to re-inspect the property and either confirm compliance with the notice or indicate the extent to which the property continues to fail to meet the terms of the notice. In the latter situation the authority may specify a further period for compliance. This process should also be available in respect of any property that has been identified by the local authority as failing the Tolerable Standard but not subject to a notice. Area-based powers Definition of a Housing Renewal Area 98. The existing provision for the declaration of Housing Action Areas in respect of concentrations of BTS properties set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 should be abolished and replaced with a new power to declare a Housing Renewal Area to facilitate action in respect of: (a) concentrations of properties that fail the Tolerable Standard (b) concentrations of properties in a condition of serious disrepair (c) concentrations of properties in a condition of disrepair, though not in serious disrepair, but which are likely to deteriorate rapidly or cause material damage to other properties or give rise to market failure or decline if nothing is done to repair them (d) concentrations of properties in any combinations of conditions (a)-(c) (e) areas where there is evidence of market failure or decline such that if action is not taken there is likely to be a detrimental impact on the stability of the local community or the condition and/or quality of a significant proportion of the housing stock in the area or of the area as a whole and where, in the view of the authority, the most effective way of dealing with the area is to declare a Housing Renewal Area. 99. The level of concentration of properties in categories (a) to (e) should be 50% but the Scottish Executive should have the power to approve renewal areas where the concentration is less than 50%, if it is satisfied that the local authority has made a sufficient case for doing so. Process for the declaration of a Housing Renewal Area 100. A local authority should seek to identify, through its Local Housing Strategy, the criteria to be used in identifying areas to be subject to Housing Renewal Area designation and the policies and approaches to be adopted in the declaration of those areas. 101. In seeking to declare a Housing Renewal Area, a local authority should first make and publish (including serving a copy on every household and business in the area and on any non-resident owners), a draft resolution identifying the following: - the area covered, defined on a map
- the reason for the declaration
- an outline action plan for improvement of the area including specified objectives, outputs and outcomes
- any dwelling or other buildings that require to be demolished because they do not meet the Tolerable Standard, are in a condition of disrepair such that they are best dealt with by demolition or require to be demolished to meet some other objective of the action plan
- any dwellings or buildings in the area that require to be repaired or improved to meet the Tolerable Standard and the standards to be met by dwellings to be repaired or improved
- any specific buildings that require to be improved to provide for the safety or security of the occupants, for the more cost effective long term maintenance of the building, or to improve the amenity or marketability of the building or meet some other specific objective of the action plan
- any specific areas of derelict land, un-adopted open space, landscaping, roadways, footpaths or amenity areas that require improvement, including street lighting
- any buildings, dwellings or other land that require to be subject to a maintenance plan and the standards of maintenance to be achieved by that plan
- any building, dwelling or other land to be acquired by compulsory purchase
- the resources to be deployed in achieving the action plan objectives
- the manner in which the "scheme of assistance" will be applied for the purposes of the action plan
- the time-scale for the implementation of the action plan.
102. The draft resolution should remain open for objections for a period of not less than one month prior to being submitted, with details of any objections and proposed changes to the resolution to take account of those objections, for consideration by the Scottish Executive according to a process similar to that now in force in respect of the declaration of Housing Action Areas. 103. The Scottish Executive should have the option of holding a hearing in public if they consider it appropriate, prior to taking a view on the draft resolution. The Scottish Executive should have the option to reject or amend the draft resolution within a specified time period. 104. After the response by the Scottish Executive a final resolution (as amended) should be adopted by the local authority, published and served on residents and interested parties together with a date for its coming into force. 105. After the declaration of a Housing Renewal Area there should be a formal process for making alterations to the action plan or for agreeing an extension of the time period of the designation. This process should include an option for residents to apply to have the action plan altered or the designation closed where either may be considered appropriate in the light of progress or changes in circumstances. Powers of local authorities in designated Housing Renewal Areas 106. The following powers should be available to local authorities within designated Housing Renewal Areas: - to access any land or building for the purpose of survey, inspection or to carry out works (including works to an adjacent property) in pursuance of the objectives of the action plan
- to require specified repair defects to be corrected in any building
- to require specified improvements to meet the Tolerable Standard to be carried out to any dwelling
- to require that specific dwellings that do not meet the Tolerable Standard should be demolished
- to require the demolition of any building that is in such a condition of disrepair that it is best dealt with by demolition or that requires to be demolished to meet some other objective of the action plan
- to require specified improvements to be carried out to any building where those improvements are required to provide for the safety or security of the occupants, for the more cost effective long term maintenance of the building, or to improve the amenity or marketability of the building or meet some other specific objective of the action plan
- to require specified improvements to be carried out in respect of any derelict land, un-adopted open space, landscaping, roadways, footpaths or amenity areas that require improvement, including street lighting
- to establish the standards to be met by any land or building subject to a requirement to carry out works
- to acquire either voluntarily or by compulsory purchase any specified building or land
- to take control of any dwelling, land or building as if they were the owner where the owner fails to comply with any requirement made under the area designation, where the owner can not be identified or contacted or where to do so is in the best interests of any of the residents or occupants of the area and the most effective way of achieving the objectives of the action plan in respect of those properties, and where appropriate to subsequently purchase such properties compulsorily. (Such a control order should operate in a similar manner to that provided for by section 178, of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (control orders for HMOs),should be subject to an appeal to the Sheriff Court and be effective against any successor in title)
- to require the owners of any land or building to put in place and operate a maintenance plan for any land or building within the area under their control including garden ground associated with any dwelling or boundary fences, hedges and walls and other open space
- to put in place and implement a maintenance plan in respect of any land or building where the owner fails to comply with a requirement to do so
- to control the occupancy of dwellings in a condition of disrepair or failing the Tolerable Standard or carry out works or postpone the demolition of any dwellings in the same way as they may for existing Housing Action Areas and in the same way as proposed for properties subject to "suspensive" notices for individual properties
- to provide assistance (according to the scheme of assistance) for any owner required to carry out works and to make conditions for that assistance in respect of future maintenance. (Such assistance should not to be mandatory to successors in title.)
- to recover costs for any work carried out under default powers
- to require, with the approval of the Lands Tribunal, that the titles in respect of community burdens of any property within the area be amended to ensure that they make effective provision for the management of common or shared maintenance obligations.
Duties of a local authority in respect of designated Housing Renewal Areas 107. The local authority should be subject to a duty to: - take steps to consult and inform residents of progress in respect of the action plan
- consult and inform owners or occupants of land or building subject to specific proposals within the action plan
- consult over any intention to apply to the Executive for a variation of the action plan or the time-scale for its completion
- ensure that suitable alternative housing opportunities are made available for any resident displaced as a direct result of the implementation of the action plan
- provide "assistance" to all owners within the area in accordance with the application of the "scheme of assistance" set out in the action plan
- certify compliance with any provision of the action plan in respect of any dwelling, building or land in respect of which works are required on application by the owner or other person having control of the property or land
- take all reasonable steps to ensure that the action plan is completed within the specified time period.
|