Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992

Number 18 of 1992

HOUSING (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1992

REVISED

Updated to 1 March 2023

This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Act 2023 (3/2023), enacted 1 March 2023, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Housing Loans (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. No. 76 of 2023), made 24 February 2023, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.


Number 18 of 1992


HOUSING (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1992

REVISED

Updated to 1 March 2023


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1.

Interpretation.

2.

Shared ownership leases.

3.

Granting of shared ownership leases by housing authorities, etc.

4.

Subsidy towards rent of houses leased by means of shared ownership leases.

5.

Works by housing authorities to private houses.

6.

Assistance by housing authorities of certain bodies.

7.

Subsidy towards rent of houses provided by certain bodies.

8.

Exemption from stamp duty.

9.

Additional provisions relating to section 58 of Principal Act.

10.

Removal of temporary dwellings from certain locations.

11.

Housing loans by housing authorities.

12.

Security of abandoned houses.

13.

Disposal of house mortgages.

14.

Disposal of mortgages held by housing authorities or Housing Finance Agency plc.

15.

Transfer to Housing Finance Agency plc of certain Local Loans Fund loans.

16.

Minimum notice to quit, etc.

17.

Rent books.

18.

Standards for rented houses.

18A.

Improvement notice.

18B.

Prohibition notice.

19.

Prohibition on distress for rent of dwelling.

20.

Registration of rented houses.

20A.

Regulations in respect of fees payable to the housing authority

21.

Statutory declarations.

22.

Payment of grants, etc., not to imply certain warranties.

23.

Definition of housing authority and transfer of functions.

24.

Amendment of section 5 of Principal Act.

25.

Amendment of section 89 of Principal Act.

26.

Power of housing authorities to sell certain dwellings provided under Principal Act.

27.

Amendment of section 15 of Act of 1988.

28.

Amendment of section 20 of Act of 1988.

29.

Amendment of Housing Finance Agency Act, 1981.

30.

Amendment of section 29 of Building Societies Act, 1989.

31.

Increase of certain limits under Principal Act.

32.

Extension of application of section 6 of Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1980.

33.

Increase in fines, etc.

34.

Offences.

35.

Validation of certain payments.

36.

Expenses of housing authorities.

37.

Repeals and savings.

38.

Short title, construction, collective citation and commencement.

SCHEDULE

Enactments Repealed


Acts Referred to

Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919

9 & 10 Geo. 5, c. 57

Building Societies Act, 1989

1989, No. 17

Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990

Conveyancing Act, 1881

44 & 45 Vict., c. 41

Conveyancing Acts, 1881 to 1911

Housing Act, 1966

1966, No. 21

Housing Act, 1970

1970, No. 18

Housing Act, 1988

1988, No. 28

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979

1979, No. 27

Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982

1982, No. 6

Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) (Amendment) Act, 1983

1983, No. 22

Housing Finance Agency Act, 1981

1981, No. 37

Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Act, 1988

1988, No. 1

Insurance Act, 1989

1989, No. 3

Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1980

1980, No. 10

Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act, 1978

1978, No. 7

Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978

1978, No. 16

Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act, Ireland, 1860

23 & 24 Vict., c. 154

Local Government Act, 1941

1941, No. 23

Local Government Act, 1946

1946, No. 24

Local Loans Fund Act, 1935

1935, No. 16

National Building Agency Limited Act, 1963

1963, No. 32

Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851

14 & 15 Vict., c. 93

Property Values (Arbitration and Appeals) Act, 1960

1960, No. 45

Registration of Title Act, 1964

1964, No. 16

Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854

17 & 18 Vict., c. 103


Number 18 of 1992


HOUSING (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1992

REVISED

Updated to 1 May 2019


AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE HOUSING ACTS, 1966 TO 1988, THE LANDLORD AND TENANT (GROUND RENTS) ACT, 1978, THE LANDLORD AND TENANT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1980, THE HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY ACTS, 1981 TO 1988, THE HOUSING (PRIVATE RENTED DWELLINGS) ACT, 1982, AND THE BUILDING SOCIETIES ACT, 1989, AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS IN RELATION TO HOUSING. [23rd July, 1992]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of collectively cited Housing Acts restricted (1.07.1997) by Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 (21/1997), s. 14(1), S.I. No. 247 of 1997, and s. 14A as inserted (11.09.1998) by Housing (Traveller Accommodation Act 1998 (33/1998), s. 35(b), S.I. No. 328 of 1998; as substituted (13.04.2015) by Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 (21/2014), s. 19(9), (10), S.I. No. 121 of 2015.

Letting and sale of local authority housing.

14.[(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014, or in an allocation scheme made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, a housing authority may—

(a) refuse to allocate, or defer the allocation of, a dwelling to which subsection (1) of the said section 22 refers, to a household where—

(i) the authority considers that any member of the household is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour or that an allocation to that household would not be in the interest of good estate management, or

(ii) the household fails to provide information, including information relating to members residing together or proposing to reside together as part of the household, which is requested by the authority and which the authority considers necessary in connection with an allocation,

or

(b) refuse to permit a person, or defer permitting a person, to take up or resume residence or enter or be in a dwelling to which section 22(1)(a) of the said Act refers where—

(i) the authority considers that the person is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour or that such permission would not be in the interest of good estate management, or

(ii) the tenant of the dwelling or the person concerned fails to provide information that is requested by the authority and which the authority considers necessary in connection with deciding whether to give, refuse or defer such permission.]

...

[Authorisation to occupy caravan on site

14A. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014, a housing authority may refuse or defer an authorisation to a person to occupy a caravan on a site where—

(a) the authority considers that that person or a member of his or her household is or has been engaged in anti-social behaviour or that the occupation by that person or household member of a caravan on the site would not be in the interest of good estate management, or

(b) that person fails to provide information, including information relating to persons residing or to reside with that person, which is requested by the authority and which the authority considers necessary in respect of the application for such authorisation.]

C2

Reference to “county council”, “city council” and “county council and a city council”, and reference to “the administrative area of a county council”, “the administrative area of a city council” and “the administrative area of a county council and the administrative area of a city council” construed (1.06.2014) by Local Government Reform Act 2014 (1/2014), s. 9(2), (3), S.I. No. 214 of 2014.

Cesser and amalgamation of certain local government areas

9. ...

(2) Except where otherwise provided for by this Act, a reference, however expressed, in any enactment—

(a) to a county council or a city council (including a reference construed by section 3(2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Principal Act as a reference to a county council or to a city council, as the case may be) shall, if the context permits, be read as a reference to a county council, a city council or a city and county council, and

(b) to a county council and a city council (including a reference so construed) shall, if the context permits, be read as a reference to a county council, a city council and a city and county council.

(3) Except where otherwise provided for by this Act, a reference, however expressed, in any enactment—

(a) to the administrative area of a county council or the administrative area of a city council shall, if the context permits, be read as a reference to the administrative area of a county council, the administrative area of a city council or the administrative area of a city and county council, and

(b) to the administrative area of a county council and the administrative area of a city council shall, if the context permits, be read as a reference to the administrative area of a county council, the administrative area of a city council and the administrative area of a city and county council.

C3

Application of collectively cited Housing Acts potentially restricted (21.09.2011) by European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011), reg. 42(22), in effect as per reg. 1(3).

Screening for Appropriate Assessment and Appropriate Assessment of implications for European Sites

42. ...

(22) Notwithstanding any provision of any statute listed in the Second Schedule that provides for the consent for a plan or project to which this Regulation applies to be obtained by default on the failure of the public authority to provide a response within a specified timescale or otherwise, that provision shall not have effect in respect of any plan or project to which this Regulation applies.

...

SECOND SCHEDULE

...

Housing Acts 1966 to 2009

...

C4

Power granted to Minister to issue guidelines and codes of practice, and a licence, consent, permission, permit, derogation or other authorisation given under collectively cited Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 may require compliance with an issued guideline and code of practice as provided (21.09.2011) by European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011), regs. 63(3), 71 and sch. 2.

General provisions regarding licences etc

63. ...

(3) A person who fails to comply with the terms, conditions, restrictions or requirements of a licence, consent, permission, permit, derogation or other authorisation given by a public authority pursuant to or in accordance with these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence.

...

Guidelines and codes of practice

71. (1) The Minister may issue guidelines and codes of practice in relation to the performance of the functions of public authorities insofar as the requirements of these Regulations, the Habitats Directive or the Birds Directive apply to those functions, or in relation to the general duties of other persons to which these Regulations apply.

...

SECOND SCHEDULE

Number

Year

Short Title/Citation

Housing Acts 1966 to 2009

C5

Power granted to Minister to give directions and issue guidelines under collectively cited Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 (1.12.2009) by Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (22/2009), ss. 4, 5, S.I. No. 449 of 2009.

Ministerial directions.

4.— (1) The Minister may, from time to time, as he or she considers appropriate, give general policy directions in writing to a housing authority in relation to the performance by the housing authority of any of its functions under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 and the housing authority shall comply with any such directions.

...

Guidelines.

5.— (1) The Minister may, from time to time, as he or she considers appropriate, issue to housing authorities such guidelines in relation to the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 as he or she considers appropriate and housing authorities shall have regard to such guidelines in the performance of those functions.

...

C6

Certain functions under collectively cited Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 transferred to Health Service Executive (1.01.2005) by Health Act 2004 (42/2004), s. 59(1) and sch. 3 item 43, S. I. No. 887 of 2004.

Transfer of functions of specified bodies to Executive.

59.—(1) The functions that, immediately before the establishment day, were the functions of a specified body under or in connection with the enactments referred to in Schedule 3 are, by this Act, transferred to the Executive on that day.

...

SCHEDULE 3

Transfer of Functions and References to Functional Areas

...

43. Housing Acts 1966 to 2002

C7

Reference to “a functional area of a health board”, “the Eastern Regional Health Authority” and “an Area Health Board” under collectively cited Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 construed (1.01.2005) by Health Act 2004 (42/2004), s. 67(2) and sch. 3 item 43, S.I. No. 887 of 2004.

Functional areas of dissolved health boards.

67.— ...

(2) References (however expressed) in any enactment referred to in Schedule 3 to a functional area of a health board, the Eastern Regional Health Authority or an Area Health Board are on and after the establishment day to be read as references to—

(a) the corresponding functional area of the Executive or that area as redefined in accordance with this section, or

(b) if the context so requires, the area comprising all of the corresponding functional areas of the Executive or comprising all of those areas as redefined in accordance with this section.

...

SCHEDULE 3

Transfer of Functions and References to Functional Areas

...

43. Housing Acts 1966 to 2002

C8

Functions transferred and references to “Department of Finance” and “Minister for Finance” construed (29.07.2011) by Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011), arts. 2, 3, 5 and sch. 1 part 2, in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 6-9.

2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by this Order are transferred to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

(2) References to the Department of Finance contained in any Act or instrument made thereunder and relating to the administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

3. The functions conferred on the Minister for Finance by or under the provisions of —

(a) the enactments specified in Schedule 1, and

(b) the statutory instruments specified in Schedule 2,

are transferred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

...

5. References to the Minister for Finance contained in any Act or instrument under an Act and relating to any functions transferred by this Order shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

...

Schedule 1

Enactments

...

Part 2

1922 to 2011 Enactments

Number and Year

Short Title

Provision

(1)

(2)

(3)

...

...

...

No. 18 of 1992

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992

Sections 4(1), 5(1) and (3), 6(9), 7(1), 11(1) and (3), 13(1), 14(1) and (2) and 15(1) and (6)

...

...

...