Housing (Improvement Grants) Regulations, 1988

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 1988
• Citation: IR SI 261/1988

S.I. No. 261 of 1988.
HOUSING (IMPROVEMENT GRANTS) REGULATIONS, 1988.
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 sections 5 and 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 (No. 27 of 1979), with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART I
	1. These Regulations may be cited as the Housing (Improvement Grants) Regulations, 1988.
	2. (1) In these Regulations, any reference to a Schedule, Part or article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a Schedule, Part or article of these Regulations.
(2) In these Regulations—
"the Act of 1979" means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 ;
"the Act of 1988" means the Housing Act, 1988 (No. 28 of 1988);
"appropriate inspection", in relation to improvement works, means an inspection on foot of an application for a grant under Part II or under the Regulations of 1983, carried out on or before the 27th day of March, 1987 by—
(a) an officer appointed for the purpose by the Minister, or
(b) in Gaeltacht areas as defined in the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts, 1929 to 1979, an officer appointed by the Minister for the Gaeltacht, or
(c) in the case of the category of works at Reference Number 2 of the Table, an officer of a sanitary authority;
"approved cost", in relation to improvement works, means the cost estimated by the Minister to be the reasonable cost of carrying out the works or the actual cost of carrying them out, whichever is the lesser;
"house" and "improvement works" both have the meanings given to them in the Act of 1979;
"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment;
"person" includes a housing authority carrying out improvement works to a house which has been provided by the authority for letting and has not been purchased from them;
"the Regulations of 1980" means the Housing Regulations, 1980 ( S.I. No. 296 of 1980 );
"the Regulations of 1982" means the Housing Regulations, 1980 (Amendment) Regulations, 1982 ( S.I. No. 177 of 1982 );
"the Regulations of 1983" means the Housing (Improvement Grants) Regulations, 1983 ( S.I. No. 330 of 1983 );
"the Table" means the Table of Improvement Grants in the First Schedule;
"tax number" means, in relation to a person, a Revenue Social Insurance Number, Value Added Tax Number or Corporation Tax Number assigned to that person by the Revenue Commissioners pursuant to the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1967 (No. 6 of 1967), the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 (No. 22 of 1972), or the Finance Acts, 1967 to 1988.
PART II
	3. This Part shall apply to grants by the Minister under section 5 of the Act of 1979 to persons carrying out to houses the categories of improvement works referred to in column (2) of the Table, where such works are commenced on or after—
(a) the 18th day of November, 1985, in the case of the category of works at Reference Number 7 of the Table, and
(b) the 1st day of December, 1985, in the case of the other categories of works referred to in column (2) of the Table.
	4. (1) A grant under this Part in respect of any category of improvement works shall not exceed whichever of the following is the lesser—
(a) two-thirds of the approved cost of the works, or
(b) in the case of an application received by the Minister—
(i) or or before the 20th day of January, 1987, the amount, as appropriate, specified in column (3) of the Table in the case of a house on an island specified in the Second Schedule, or in column (4) of the Table in any other case, or
(ii) after the 20th day of January, 1987, 75 per cent of the amounts so specified in the said columns (3) or (4), as appropriate.
(2) In the case of the category of works at Reference Number 6 of the Table—
(a) the amount of the grant related to the repair of any chimney shall not exceed £500;
(b) the amount in the approved cost related to electrical wiring shall not exceed £500 or 25 per cent of the approved cost of other works within the categories of works at Reference Numbers 6 and 7 of the said Table, whichever is the lesser.
(3) In any case involving both the categories of works at Reference Numbers 6 and 7 of the Table—
(a) the aggregate amount of the grants shall not exceed—
(i) in the case of an application received by the Minister on or before the 20th day of January, 1987, £2,760 in the case of a house on an island specified in the Second Schedule, or £2,000 in any other case;
(ii) in the case of an application received by the Minister after the 20th day of January, 1987, £2,070 in the case of a house on an island specified in the Second Schedule, or £1,500 in any other case.
( b ) the amount of the grant related to the replacement of defective windows and external doors shall not exceed £960 in the case of a house on an island specified in the Second Schedule, or £800 in any other case.
(4) In the case of the category of works at Reference Number 8 of the Table—
( a ) the amount in the approved cost related to the replacement of defective windows and external doors shall not exceed 25 per cent of the approved cost of the other works within this category, excluding electrical wiring;
( b ) the amount in the approved cost relating to electrical wiring shall not exceed £500 or 10 per cent of the approved cost of the other works within this category, whichever is the lesser;
( c ) the amount of the grant related to the repair of any chimney shall not exceed £500.
	5. A grant shall not be paid under this Part in respect of the category of works—
( a ) at Reference Number 1 of the Table, unless a water supply does not exist in the house or the existing supply is seriously deficient and the approved cost of the works is not less than £200;
( b ) at Reference Number 2 of the Table, unless sewerage facilities do not exist in the house or the existing facilities are seriously deficient and the approved cost of the works is not less than £200;
( c ) at Reference Number 3 of the Table, unless a masonry chimney does not exist in the house;
( d ) at Reference Numbers 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 of the Table, unless all works necessary for the conservation of the house have been satisfactorily completed;
( e ) at Reference Number 4 of the Table, unless a fitted bathroom does not exist in the house and the approved cost of the works is not less than £200;
( f ) at Reference Number 5 of the Table, unless the extension forms part of the house and involves an increase in the floor area of the house of at least 9.3 square metres in the case of a kitchen or livingroom extension and at least 6.5 square metres in the case of a bedroom extension;
( g ) at Reference Numbers 6 and 7 of the Table, unless the works are necessary for the conservation of the house and the approved cost of the works to the basic fabric of the house is not less than £500 or the approved cost of the replacement of defective windows and external doors is not less than £300;
( h ) at Reference Numbers 6, 7 or 8 of the Table in respect of a house which has been provided by a housing authority for letting and has not been purchased from them save where a tenant of such a house, with the consent of the authority, makes application for a grant in respect of the category of works at Reference Number 7 of the said Table;
( i ) at Reference Number 7 of the Table, unless the application therefor was received by the Minister on or before the 20th day of January, 1987;
( j ) at Reference Number 8 of the Table, unless the works are necessary for the conservation of the house and the approved cost of the works...