Commentary on Sections Part 1 - Housing Conditions Chapter 4 - Demolition Orders and Slum Clearance Declarations Section 47: Clearance areas
169.Section 47 amends section 289 of the Housing Act 1985 (declaration of clearance area) in order to align it with the hazard assessment and enforcement provisions in Part 1 of the Act. The effect of this realignment is to retain the link between poor housing conditions and enforcement action and it does not introduce factors which fall outside this consideration.
170.New subsection (2) provides that, if a category 1 hazard exists in each of the residential buildings in an area, and if the other buildings (if any) in the area are dangerous or harmful to the health or safety of the inhabitants of the area, declaring a clearance area is one of the courses of action available to an LHA in discharging its general duty under section 5 to take the most appropriate enforcement action to deal with a category 1 hazard.
171.New subsection (2ZA) provides a discretionary power for an LHA to declare a clearance area if it is satisfied that the residential buildings in the area, as a result of their bad arrangement of the narrowness or bad arrangement of the streets; and any other buildings, are dangerous or harmful to the health or safety of the inhabitants of the area.
172.New subsection (2ZB) provides that, if a category 2 hazard exists in each of the residential buildings in an area, and if the other buildings (if any) in the area are dangerous or harmful to the health or safety of the inhabitants of the area, the LHA may only declare the area to be a clearance area if the circumstances of the case are specified or described in an Order made by the Secretary of State or, in relation to Wales, by the National Assembly for Wales.