The Housing Act 1985 (c. 68) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act introduced laws relating to the succession of council houses.Wilson, W. (2014) Succession rights and social housing, House of Commons Research Paper, SN/SP/1998, p. 2 It also facilitated the transfer of council housing to not-for-profit housing associations.
Selected contents Power to acquire land and buildings Section 17 authorises local housing authorities to acquire land and buildings for housing construction and for housing use.UK Legislation, Housing Act 1985, Section 17
Cornwall Council argued in 2012, unsuccessfully, that the words "at a reasonable price" were implied by the wording of this section. The Council wanted to annul certain leases entered into by two predecessor local authorities because they considered the costs excessive and not to have been agreed by reference to local market rents, but the Court of Appeal said that such words or legal intent were not implied by the act.Fenton, R., and Jagasia, J., Charles Terence Estates Limited v Cornwall Council: Public Law Ultra Vires as a Defence to a Private Law Claim, Guildhall Chambers, published in November 2012, accessed on 1 November 2025
Overcrowding Sections 324-326 replicate part 10 of the Housing Act 1935, referring to a "room standard" (section 325) and a "space standard" (section 326) as means by which to control "statutory overcrowding".UK Legislation, Housing Act 1985, Sections 324-326Shelter, the National Campaign for Homeless People Ltd., Check if your home is overcrowded by law, accessed on 1 November 2025 A breach of these standards is a criminal offence. +Table 1 maximum people per allowed roomNo. of rooms No. of people1 22 33 54 7 5 or more 2 for each room
+Table 2 Minimum room size per personFloor area of roomNo. of people110 sq. ft. (10.22m)290 ‒ 110 sq. ft. (8.36 ‒ 10.22m) 1 70 ‒ 90 sq. ft. (6.5 ‒ 8.36m) 150 ‒ 70 sq. ft. (4.65 ‒ 6.5m)
A child under 10 is counted as one half of a person.
Section 610 Section 610 provides a power for the County Court to vary the terms of a lease or a restrictive covenant to allow for conversion of a single dwelling into two or more dwellings, where either the lease or the restrictive covenant would prohibit such a conversion. The power can be exercised where local housing need and demand has changed since the dwelling was built, or where planning permission for the conversion has been granted, and after consultation with "any person interested" in the matter. The use of this mechanism to facilitate change in residential property usage offers an alternative to the use of section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925, which (in its amended form) provides for circumstances in which the Lands Tribunal can discharge or revise a restrictive covenant. The use of section 610 was reviewed in the Appeal Court case of Lawntown v Camenzuli in 2007, where Lord Justice Richards noted that there had been relatively few reported legal cases where interpretation of the section had been raised.England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Lawntown Ltd v Camenzuli & Anor EWCA Civ 949, paragraphs 4-8, delivered on 10 October 2007, accessed on 24 September 2024
See also English land law Housing Act 1980 Public housing in the United Kingdom § Stock transfer
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