Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979

Loans by housing authorities for improvement of houses.

8.—(1) A housing authority may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, make a loan to a person carrying out improvement works to a house.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, repayment of a loan under this section in respect of a house shall be secured—

(a) by an instrument vesting the ownership of the house in the housing authority subject to a right of redemption by the borrower,

(b) by charging the house under the Registration of Title Act, 1964 , with the repayment of the loan (together with the interest payable thereon),

(c) by the deposit with the housing authority of the land certificate issued under the said Act in relation to the house, or

(d) where such ownership is already vested in a person other than the borrower subject to a right of redemption by the borrower, by an instrument of further charge charging the repayment of the loan (together with the interest payable thereon) under this section on the house and making the said right of redemption subject also to the repayment of the loan (together with the interest payable thereon) under this section.

(3) In case a loan to be made under this section does not exceed such amount as may be prescribed from time to time for the purposes of this subsection, the housing authority concerned may make the loan without requiring the security referred to in subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Regulations under this section may, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, make provision in relation to all or any one or more of the following:

(a) the amount of a loan,

(b) requirements in relation to the suitability of the house concerned for improvement,

(c) the occupation of the house,

(d) requirements in relation to the type and purpose of the improvement works, and

(e) requirements in relation to the financial and family circumstances of the person to whom the loan is made.

(5) A loan shall not be made under this section unless the house the subject of the loan, upon completion of the works concerned, complies with such conditions, if any, as may be determined by the Minister from time to time for the purposes of this section in relation to standards of construction of houses and the provision of water, sewerage and other services therein.

(6) Any sum due to a housing authority by any person in respect of a loan made under this section may, without prejudice to any other power in that behalf, be recovered by the authority from that person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(7) In this section “ownership” means such interest or combination of interests in a house as constitutes either a fee simple interest in possession or a leasehold interest (including fee farm grant) in possession of such number of years unexpired at the date on which the loan under this section in respect of the house is authorised by the housing authority as is equal to or greater than the term fixed for the repayment of the loan.