S.I. No. 86/1992:

HOUSING (ACCOMMODATION PROVIDED BY APPROVED BODIES) REGULATIONS, 1992.

HOUSING (ACCOMMODATION PROVIDED BY APPROVED BODIES) REGULATIONS, 1992.

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 5 of the Housing Act, 1966 (No. 21 of 1966) and by section 15 of the Housing Act, 1988 , (No. 28 of 1988), with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Housing (Accommodation Provided By Approved Bodies) Regulations, 1992.

2. (1) In these Regulations--

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment;

"the Regulations of 1988" means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations, 1988;

"tax reference number" means--

( a ) in the case of a person paying income tax under PAYE, the Revenue and Social Insurance (RSI) Number stated on any determination of tax-free allowances issued to that person by his inspector of taxes, or

( b ) in the case of a self-employed person or a company, the reference number stated on any return of income form or notice of assessment issued to that person or company by his or its inspector of taxes, or

( c ) in the case of a body which has been granted charitable recognition by the Revenue Commissioners, the reference (CHY) number issued to the body in that respect by the Revenue Commissioners.

(2) In these Regulations, any reference--

( a ) to a section which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a section of the Housing Act, 1988 ; and

( b ) to a sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a sub-article of the article in which the reference occurs.

3. These Regulations shall apply to accommodation in respect of which works are commenced on or after the 14th day of February, 1991.

4. (1) A grant by the Minister to a housing authority under section 15 in respect of the provision of assistance under section 5 to an approved body shall not exceed an amount equal to--

( a ) 95 per cent of the cost, as approved by the authority, of the provision of accommodation for persons regarded by the authority as being homeless in accordance with section 2, or

( b ) 90 per cent of the cost, as approved by the authority, of the provision of accommodation where the authority are satisfied that at least 75 per cent of the units of accommodation will be let to persons to whom this paragraph applies,

subject to a maximum grant of £22,000 for each unit of category one accommodation and a maximum grant of £25,000 for each unit of category two accommodation.

(2) In sub-article (1)--

"category one accommodation" means accommodation that, in the opinion of the housing authority,--

( a ) is suitable and is provided for occupation by one person, or

( b ) is suitable and is provided for occupation by a household comprising two persons;

"category two accommodation" means accommodation that, in the opinion of the housing authority, is suitable and is provided for occupation by a household comprising at least three persons.

(3) Paragraph (b) of sub-article (1) shall apply to--

( a ) a person whose need for accommodation has been included in the most recent assessment made by a housing authority under section 9, or has been accepted by the authority for inclusion in the next such assessment;

( b ) (i) a person being a tenant of a house owned by a housing authority, or

(ii) a person or the successor in title of a person who was the tenant of a house provided by a housing authority and who purchased that house from the authority,

where, on or after the 14th day of February, 1991, either such person has provided a housing authority with vacant possession of the house by surrendering the tenancy or by conveying the house without compensation to the authority.

5. A grant may be paid by the Minister under section 15 in respect of the provision by the approved body, within the precincts of accommodation provided for the categories of persons referred to in article 4 of these Regulations, of accommodation for use as his normal place of residence by a person providing welfare or caretaker services for those persons and such grant shall not exceed the amount of the greatest grant payable in accordance with that article in respect of any one of the units of accommodation occupied by persons for whom the welfare or caretaker services are being provided.

6. It shall be a condition of the payment of a grant under section 15 in respect of the provision of assistance under section 15 to an approved body, that the body shall furnish to the housing authority--

( a ) its tax reference number, details of its tax district and a statement that to the best of its knowledge its tax affairs are in order or, where the body has not been granted charitable recognition by the Revenue Commissioners, a current tax clearance certificate issued by the Collector General of the Revenue Commissioners to the body, and

( b ) the name, address, tax reference number and details of the tax district of the contractor carrying out the construction works to which the assistance under section 5 relates and the number and expiry date of a certificate of authorisation issued by the Revenue Commissioners or a tax clearance certificate issued by the Collector General of the Revenue Commissioners to that contractor or, where there is more than one such contractor, such number and expiry date in respect of each contractor.

7. (1) Subject to sub-article (2), sub-articles (2) and (3) of article 5 of the Regulations of 1988 are hereby revoked.

(2) Nothing in sub-article (1) shall prevent the Minister from paying a grant under sub-article (2) or (3) of article 5 of the Regulations of 1988 where the works were commenced before the 14th day of February, 1991 and the grant would otherwise have been properly payable in accordance with the provisions of the said sub-article (2) or (3).

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment this

13th day of April, 1992.

MICHAEL SMITH,

Minister for the Environment.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this13th day of April, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations provide for--

(i) the payment of increased grants by the Minister in respect of the provision of assistance by housing authorities to approved voluntary housing bodies;

(ii) the continued payment of grants by the Minister in respect of the provision by approved voluntary housing bodies of caretakers residences; and

(iii) the requirement that certain tax-related information be furnished to housing authorities by approved voluntary housing bodies which are in receipt of assistance.