Energy Conservation (Housing) Bill
This is the text of the Energy Conservation (Housing) Bill, as amended in Committee in the House of Commons and printed on 25 March 1998.
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Energy Conservation (Housing) Bill |
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A
B I L L
[AS AMENDED IN STANDING COMMITTEE D]
TO
Make further provision for energy conservation related to housing; and for connected purposes.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and 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:- |
Issue of guidance to registered social landlords and registered housing associations. |
1. - (1) In section 36 of the Housing Act 1996 (issue of guidance by the Corporation), in subsection (2) after paragraph (d) there is inserted- |
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"(dd) standards of energy efficiency and the means of achieving those standards;". |
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(2) In section 36A of the Housing Associations Act 1985 (issue of guidance by Scottish Homes) in subsection (3) the word "and" at the end of paragraph (d) is omitted and after that paragraph there is inserted- |
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"(dd) standards of energy efficiency and the means of achieving those standards; and". |
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(3) In Article 11 of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (issue of guidance by the Department) in paragraph (3) the word "and" at the end of sub-paragraph (d) is omitted and after that sub-paragraph there is inserted- |
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"(dd) standards of energy efficiency and the means of achieving those standards; and". |
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Energy conservation reports. |
2. - (1) After section 2 of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (energy conservation reports) there is inserted- |
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"Provision of information by registered social landlords and registered housing associations. |
2A. - (1) For the purposes of preparing or modifying a report under this Act, an energy conservation authority may request from a relevant body information regarding the energy efficiency of any relevant residential accommodation, other than houses in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland let on long leases to persons other than other relevant bodies. |
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(2) In subsection (1) "relevant residential accommodation", in relation to a relevant body, means- |
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(a) any residential accommodation in respect of which the relevant body owes an obligation to another person to repair any part of the structure, |
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(b) any other residential accommodation in England and Wales or Northern Ireland- |
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(i) in which the relevant body has the freehold interest, or
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(ii) which the relevant body holds under a lease and in which no other relevant body holds any superior interest,
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except accommodation in respect of which one or more other relevant bodies are under an obligation which is, or obligations which taken together amount to, an obligation to repair the whole of the structure, or |
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(c) any other residential accommodation in Scotland- |
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(i) of which the relevant body is a heritable proprietor, or
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(ii) in which the relevant body has the interest of a tenant under a lease and in which no other relevant body has an interest of a landlord under that lease or an interest of an over landlord, and of which no other relevant body is a heritable proprietor,
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except accommodation in respect of which one or more other relevant bodies or one or more other persons are under an obligation which is, or obligations which taken together amount to, an obligation to repair the whole of the structure. |
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(3) A relevant body shall comply with a request made under subsection (1) so far as it relates to information which is in its possession at the time of the making of the request. |
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(4) In considering whether action needs to be taken to secure the proper management of the affairs of a relevant body or whether there has been mismanagement, the Corporation may have regard to the extent to which the relevant body has complied with its obligations under subsection (3). |
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(5) In this section- |
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"the Corporation" means the Housing Corporation, Housing for Wales, Scottish Homes or the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland; |
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"house" has the same meaning- |
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(a) in relation to England and Wales, as in section 183(2) of the Housing Act 1985, and
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(b) in relation to Northern Ireland, as in Article 3(7) of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;
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(a) in relation to a house in England or Wales, a lease falling within paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (e) of the definition of "long lease" in section 7(1) of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, and
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(b) in relation to a house in Northern Ireland-
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(i) a lease granted for a term certain exceeding 21 years, whether or not it is (or may become) terminable before the end of that term by notice given by the tenant or by re-entry or forfeiture, or
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(ii) a lease granted for whatever term in pursuance of Chapter I of Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983; and
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(a) in relation to England and Wales, a registered social landlord within the meaning of the Housing Act 1996,
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(b) in relation to Scotland, a registered housing association within the meaning of the Housing Associations Act 1985, and
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(c) in relation to Northern Ireland, a registered housing association within the meaning of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.".
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(2) In section 6 of that Act (supplementary provisions), in subsection (2) for "or" there is substituted "and nothing in this Act, apart from section 2A,". |
Guidance as to requests for information. |
3. - (1) Section 4 of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (guidance by the Secretary of State) is amended as follows. |
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(2) In subsection (2) for the words "what improvements in energy efficiency are to be regarded as significant" there is substituted- |
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"(a) what improvements in energy efficiency are to be regarded as significant, |
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(b) the categories of information which an energy conservation authority may request under section 2A(1), |
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(c) the form in which such a request is to be made, and |
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(d) the minimum period within which an energy conservation authority may require a reply to such a request to be given.". |
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Short title, commencement and extent. |
4. - (1) This Act may be cited as the Energy Conservation (Housing) Act 1998. |
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(2) This Act, except this section, shall not come into force until such day as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument appoint; and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different areas. |
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(3) In the application of subsection (2) to Northern Ireland- |
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(a) the reference to the Secretary of State shall be construed as a reference to the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, and |
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(b) the reference to an order made by statutory instrument shall be construed as a reference to an order which is a statutory rule for the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979. |
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(4) Subsection (1) of section 1 extends to England and Wales only; subsection (2) of that section extends to Scotland only; and subsection (3) of that section extends to Northern Ireland only. |
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(5) Except as provided by subsection (4), this Act extends to Northern Ireland. |