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SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - LONG TITLE

An Act to empower [{1}District Councils] to advance Money for
enabling Persons to acquire the Ownership of Small Houses in which
they reside.{2}
[9th August 1899]
Power of district council to advance money to residents in houses
for the purchase of houses.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 1

1.(1) A [district council] for any [district] may, subject to the
provisions of this Act, advance money to a resident in any house
within the [district] for the purpose of enabling him to acquire
the ownership of that house; provided that any advance shall not
exceed

(a)[ninety-five per centum] of that which in the opinion of the
[district council] is the market value of the ownership; nor

Para.(b) rep. by 1919 c.45 s.34

(2) Every such advance shall be repaid with interest within such
period not exceeding [fifty years] from the date of the advance as
may be agreed upon.

Subs.(3) rep. by 1921 c.19 s.11(4) sch.

(4) The repayment may be made either by equal instalments of
principal or by an annuity of principal and interest combined, and
all payments on account of principal or interest shall be made
either weekly or at any periods not exceeding a half year,
according as may be agreed.

(5) The proprietor of a house in respect of which an advance has
been made may at any of the usual quarter days, after one month's
written notice, and on paying all sums due on account of interest,
repay to the [district council] the whole of the outstanding
principal of the advance, or any part thereof being ten pounds or
a multiple of ten pounds, and where the repayment is made by an
annuity of principal and interest combined, the amount so outstanding
and the amount by which the annuity will be reduced where a part
of the advance is paid off, shall be determined by a table annexed
to the instrument securing the repayment of the advance.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 2
Procedure for obtaining advance.

2. Before making an advance under this Act in respect of a house
a [district council] shall be satisfied

(a)that the applicant for the advance is resident or intends to
reside in the house, and is not already the proprietor within the
meaning of this Act of a house to which the statutory conditions
apply; and

(b)that the value of the ownership of the house is sufficient; and

(c)that the title to the ownership is one which an ordinary
mortgagee would be willing to accept; and

(d)that the house is in good sanitary condition and good repair;
and

(e)that the repayment to the [district council] of the advance is
secured by an instrument vesting the ownership (including any
interest already held by the purchaser) in the [district council]
subject to the right of redemption by the applicant, but such
instrument shall not contain anything inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 3
Conditions affecting house purchased by means of advance.

3.(1) Where the ownership of a house has been acquired by means of
an advance under this Act, the house shall, until such advance with
interest has been fully paid, or the [district council] have taken
possession or ordered a sale under this Act, be held subject to
the following conditions (in this Act referred to as the statutory
conditions), that is to say:

(a)Every sum for the time being due in respect of principal or of
interest of the advance shall be punctually paid:

(b)The proprietor of the house shall reside in the house:

(c)The house shall be kept insured against fire to the satisfaction
of the [district council], and the receipts for the premiums
produced when required by them:

(d)The house shall be kept in good sanitary condition and good
repair:

(e)The house shall not be used for the sale of intoxicating
liquors, or in such a manner as to be a nuisance to adjacent
houses:

(f)The [district council] shall have power to enter the house by
any person, authorised by them in writing for the purpose, at all
reasonable times for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
statutory conditions are complied with.

(2) The proprietor of the house may with the permission of the
[district council] (which shall not be unreasonably withheld) at any
time transfer his interest in the house, but any such transfer
shall be made subject to the statutory conditions.

(3) Where default is made in complying with the statutory condition
as to residence, the [district council] may take possession of the
house, and where default is made in complying with any of the
other statutory conditions, whether the statutory condition as to
residence has or has not been complied with, the [district council]
may either take possession of the house, or order the sale of the
house without taking possession.

(4) In the case of the breach of any condition other than that of
punctual payment of the principal and interest of the advance, the
[council] shall, previously to taking possession or ordering a sale,
by notice in writing delivered at the house and addressed to the
proprietor, call on the proprietor to comply with the condition, and
if the proprietor

(a)within fourteen days after the delivery of the notice gives an
undertaking in writing to the [council] to comply with the notice;
and

(b)within two months after the delivery of the notice complies
therewith,

(5) In the case of the bankruptcy of the proprietor of the house,
or in the case of a deceased proprietor's estate being administered
in bankruptcy ... the [district council] may either take possession
of the house or order the sale of the house without taking
possession, and shall do so except in pursuance of some arrangement
to the contrary with [the Official Assignee or] the trustee in
bankruptcy.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 4
Provision as to personal liability and powers of proprietor.

4.(1) Where the ownership of a house has been acquired by means of
an advance under this Act, the person who is the proprietor shall
be personally liable for the repayment of any sum due in respect
of the advance until he ceases to be proprietor by reason of a
transfer made in accordance with this Act.

(2) The provisions of this Act requiring the permission of the
[district council] to the transfer of the proprietor's interest in a
house under this Act shall not apply to any charge on that
interest made by the proprietor, so far as the charge does not
affect any rights or powers of the [district council] under this
Act.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 5
Recovery of possession and disposal of house.

5.(1) Where a [district council] take possession of a house, all
the estate, right, interest, and claim of the proprietor in or to
the house shall, subject as in this section mentioned, vest in and
become the property of the [district council], and that [council]
may either retain the house under their own management or sell or
otherwise dispose of it as they think expedient.

(2) Where a [district council] take possession of a house they
shall, save as hereinafter mentioned, pay to the proprietor either

(a)such sum as may be agreed upon; or

(b)a sum equal to the value of the interest in the house at the
disposal of the [district council], after deducting therefrom the
amount of the advance then remaining unpaid and any sum due for
interest; and the said value, in the absence of a sale and in
default of agreement, shall be settled by a county court judge as
arbitrator, or, if the Lord Chancellor so authorises, by a single
arbitrator appointed by the county court judge, and the Arbitration
Act, 1889, shall apply to any such arbitration.

(3) The sum so payable to the proprietor if not paid within three
months after the date of taking possession shall carry interest at
the rate of three per cent. per annum from the date of taking
possession.

(4) All costs of or incidental to the taking possession, sale, or
other disposal of the house (including the costs of the arbitration,
if any) incurred by the [district council], before the amount
payable to the proprietor has been settled either by agreement or
arbitration, shall be deducted from the amount otherwise payable to
the proprietor.

(5) Where the [district council] are entitled under this Act to
take possession of a house, possession may be recovered (whatever
may be the value of the house) by or on behalf of the [district
council] either under sections one hundred and thirty-eight to one
hundred and forty-five of the County Courts Act, 1888, [or under
the provisions of Part VII of the Magistrates' Courts Act (Northern
Ireland) 1964 relating to ejectment proceedings as in the] cases
therein provided for, and in either case may be recovered as if
the [district council] were the landlord and the proprietor of the
house were the tenant.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 6
Procedure as to ordering sale.

6.(1) Where a [district council] order the sale of a house without
taking possession, they shall cause it to be put up for sale by
auction, and out of the proceeds of sale retain any sum due to
them on account of the interest or principal of the advance, and
all costs, charges, and expenses properly incurred by them in or
about the sale of the house, and pay over the balance (if any) to
the proprietor.

(2) If the [district council] are unable at the auction to sell
the house for such a sum as will allow of the payment out of the
proceeds of sale of the interest and principal of the advance then
due to the [council], and the costs, charges, and expenses
aforesaid, they may take possession of the house in manner provided
by this Act, but shall not be liable to pay any sum to the
proprietor.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 7
Suspension of condition as to residence.

7.(1) An advance may be made to an applicant who intended to
reside in a house, as if he were resident, if he undertakes to
begin his residence therein within such period not exceeding six
months from the date of the advance, as the [district council] may
fix, and in that case the statutory condition requiring residence
shall be suspended during that period.

(2) The [district council] may allow a proprietor to permit, by
letting or otherwise, a house to be occupied as a furnished house
by some other person during a period not exceeding four months in
the whole in any twelve months, or during absence from the house
in the performance of any duty arising from or incidental to any
office, service, or employment held or undertaken by him, and the
condition requiring residence shall be suspended while the permission
continues.

(3) Where the proprietor of a house subject to statutory conditions
dies, the condition requiring residence shall be suspended until the
expiration of twelve months from the death, or any earlier date at
which the personal representatives transfer the ownership or interest
of the proprietor in the course of administration; and where the
proprietor of any such house becomes bankrupt, or his estate is
administered in bankruptcy and in either case an arrangement under
this Act is made with [the Official Assignee or] the trustee in
bankruptcy, the condition as to residence shall, if the [district
council] think fit, be suspended during the continuance of the
arrangement.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 8
List of advances.

8.(1) A [district council] shall keep at their offices a book
containing a list of any advances made by them under this Act, and
shall enter therein with regard to each advance

(i)a description of the house in respect of which the advance is
made;

(ii)the amount advanced;

(iii)the amount for the time being repaid;

(iv)the name of the proprietor for the time being of the house;
and

(v)such other particulars as the [district council] think fit to
enter.

(2) The book shall be open to inspection at the office of the
[district council] during office hours free of charge.[

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 9
Interpretation.

9. In this Act "district council" means a council established under
the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.]

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 10
Residence and ownership.

10.(1) A person shall not be deemed for the purposes of this Act
to be resident in a house unless he is both the occupier of and
resident in that house.

(2) For the purposes of this Act "ownership" shall be such interest
or combination of interests in a house as, together with the
interest of the purchaser of the ownership, will constitute either a
fee simple in possession or a leasehold interest in possession of
at least sixty years unexpired at the date of the purchase.

(3) Where the ownership of a house is acquired by means of an
advance under this Act, the purchaser of the ownership, or, in the
case of any devolution or transfer, the person in whom the interest
of the purchaser is for the time being vested, shall be the
proprietor of the house for the purposes of this Act.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 14
Application of Act to Ireland.

14. This Act shall apply to Ireland with the following
modifications:

Para.(1) rep. by SLR (NI) 1954

(2)So much as relates to civil-bill ejectments in section fifty-two
to seventy-three of the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act, 1860,
shall be substituted for sections one hundred and thirty-eight to
one hundred and forty-five of the County Courts Act, 1888, ...:

(3)Any reference to section one hundred and twenty-five of the
Bankruptcy Act, 1883, shall not apply:

(4)So much of sub-section three of section seven as relates to a
transfer of ownership or interest by personal representatives, shall
not apply save where the title to such ownership or interest
devolves on the personal representatives of the proprietor:

(5)Sections six to twenty of the Common Law Procedure Amendment Act
(Ireland), 1856, shall be substituted for the Arbitration Act, 1889:

Paras.(6)(10) rep. by 1953 c.13 (NI) s.4 sch. SLR (NI) 1954; SLR
1976; para.(11) spent

<(12)An advance shall not be made under this Act for the purchase of a house acquired under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts, 1883 to 1896, and held by a district council under those Acts.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 15
Registration of title in Ireland.

15.(1) Where a [district council] make an advance under this Act in
Ireland they shall cause the title to the premises in respect of
which the advance is made to be registered under the Local
Registration of Title (Ireland) Act, 1891, and shall pay the cost
of first registration out of the advance.

Subs.(2) rep. by 1970 c.18 (NI) s.97 sch.14

(3) The person appearing on the register for the time being as
proprietor shall alone be the proprietor for the purposes of this
Act.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT 1899 - SECT 16
Short title.

16. This Act may be cited as the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act,
1899.