Affordable Housing Act 2021

Amendment of section 96 of Act of 2000

46. Section 96 of the Act of 2000 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “the provisions of this section shall apply to an application for permission for the development of houses on land” for “where a development plan objective requires that a specified percentage of any land zoned solely for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, be made available for housing referred to in section 94(4)(a), the provisions of this section shall apply to an application for permission for the development of houses on land to which such an objective applies”,

(b) in subsection (3)—

(i) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (j), an agreement under this section shall provide for the transfer to the planning authority of the ownership of 20 per cent of the land that is subject to the application for permission for the provision of housing referred to in section 94(4)(a).”,

(ii) in paragraph (b)(iva), by the insertion of “, or persons nominated by the authority in accordance with this Part,” after “to the planning authority”,

(iii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “subparagraph (iva)” for “paragraph (iva)”,

(iv) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(bb) Where property is transferred to a planning authority under paragraph (a) or (b) or there is a reduction in rent payable over the term of a lease referred to in paragraph (b)(iva) (excluding any reduction for maintenance, management and void periods specified in such lease), the planning authority shall use at least half of the aggregate of the net monetary value of that property and of any reduction in rent calculated in accordance with paragraph (b) for the provision of housing referred to in section 94(4)(a)(i).”,

(v) in paragraph (d), by the insertion of “or persons nominated by the authority” after “to the planning authority”, and

(vi) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (i)—

“(j) Where—

(i) the permission is granted before 1 August 2021, or

(ii) the permission is granted during the period beginning on 1 August 2021 and ending on 31 July 2026 and the land to which the application for permission relates was purchased by the applicant, or the person on whose behalf the application is made, during the period beginning on 1 September 2015 and ending on 31 July 2021,

the reference to “20 per cent of the land” in paragraph (a) shall be read as “10 per cent of the land” and the reference in paragraph (bb) to “at least half of the aggregate of the net monetary value” shall be read as “all of the aggregate of the net monetary value.”,

(c) in subsection (8), by the substitution of “parties are unable to reach an agreement” for “agreement is not entered into before the expiration of 8 weeks from the date of the grant of permission”,

(d) in subsection (9)(a)—

(i) in subparagraph (i), by the substitution of “the provision on the land of, housing of the type” for “the provision of, houses on the land for persons”,

(ii) in subparagraph (ii), by the substitution of “persons eligible for social housing support within the meaning of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 or eligible applicants within the meaning of Part 2 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021” for “those persons”, and

(iii) in subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of “provision on the land of housing of the type” for “provision of houses on the land for persons”,

(e) in subsection (10)—

(i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “persons eligible under regulations under section 31 (3) of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 to be tenants of cost rental dwellings, persons eligible for social housing support within the meaning of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 or eligible applicants within the meaning of Part 2 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021” for “persons to whom section 94(4)(a) applies”, and

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) A nominee of a planning authority may be a person eligible for social housing support within the meaning of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 , an eligible applicant within the meaning of Part 2 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 or a body approved for the purposes of section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 for the provision of housing of the type referred to in section 94(4)(a).”,

(f) in subsection (12), by the deletion of “including the making of payments under section 94 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 into the Affordable Dwellings Fund established under Part 5 of that Act”, and

(g) in subsection (13)(a), by the insertion of “cost rental housing or” after “development consisting of the provision of”.