QUALITY CONTROL OVER FLATS: SOME PROBLEMS FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES

In the past, the phrase ‘home, sweet home’ meant a house. Nowadays, in cities and towns, people tend to live in flats, which vary from flats in tower‐ or other purpose‐built blocks to flats in converted houses. Each type of flat has its own problems of maintenance, upkeep and repair. Local authorities concerned with keeping the quality of local housing up to a proper standard have a difficult, unenviable task. Sometimes, a local authority can fulfil its responsibilities towards a particular building through its powers as a landlord. Sometimes, when those powers are inadequate, or when it is not the landlord, it must rely, so far as it can, on its statutory powers under housing law. These two sets of powers may overlap, but should be considered separately. Its powers as a landlord depend on the provisions of its leases. The length of the lease may also be vital.