Jersey Law 23/1950
BUILDING LOANS (JERSEY) LAW, 1950
____________
A LAW to
authorize the lending of money for enabling persons to acquire, construct,
convert or repair dwelling-houses, sanctioned by Order of His Majesty in
Council of the
21st day of DECEMBER, 1950
____________
(Registered on the 20th day of January, 1951)
____________
STATES OF JERSEY
____________
The 9th day of
August, 1950
____________
THE STATES, subject to the sanction of
His Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: -
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“the Committee” means the Housing Committee;
“the Fund” has the meaning assigned thereto by Article
2 of this Law;
“house” means a building used or to be used wholly or
principally for human habitation and includes any outhouses and appurtenances
belonging thereto or usually enjoyed therewith;
“loan” means a loan made in pursuance of this Law.
ARTICLE 2
ESTABLISHMENT OF DWELLING-HOUSES LOAN FUND
(1) For
the purposes of this Law, there shall be established a fund, to be called
“the Dwelling-Houses Loan Fund” (in this Law referred to as
“the Fund”), into which the States may pay, and from which the
States may withdraw, such sums as they shall from time to time determine.
(2) All
monies lent in pursuance of this Law and all expenses incurred in carrying this
Law into effect shall be paid out of the Fund, and all monies received in
respect of the repayment of the principal of loans and of the interest thereon,
and all other monies receivable in pursuance of this Law, shall be paid into
the Fund.
(3) The
Committee shall, not later than the first day of March in each year, present to
the States a report showing the financial position of the Fund at the end of
the preceding year.
ARTICLE 3
POWER OF COMMITTEE TO MAKE LOANS FOR PURPOSES OF HOUSING
Subject to the provisions of this Law, the Committee may lend money
to any person for the purpose of –
(a) acquiring
a house together with any land * * * *
appertaining thereto;
(b) acquiring
land * * * *2
and constructing a house thereon;
(c) constructing
a house;
(d) acquiring
a building and converting it into a house;
(e) converting
a building into a house;
(f) reconstructing,
altering, enlarging, repairing or improving a house.
ARTICLE 4
PERSONS TO WHOM LOANS MAY NOT BE MADE
[(1) No
loan shall be made to any person who is not a national of a Member State of the
European Economic Community.]
(2) No
loan shall be made to a married woman non
sui juris.
ARTICLE 5
LOAN TO BE SECURED BY HYPOTHEC, TO BEAR INTEREST AND TO BE REPAID
BY INSTALMENTS
(1) Every
loan shall be secured by a simple conventional hypothec charged on the property
in relation to which the loan is made and shall bear interest at the prescribed
rate calculated annually on the amount of the principal of the loan for the
time being remaining unpaid on the first day of January.
[(2) For
the purposes of paragraph (1) of this Article, the prescribed rate of interest
shall be five per centum per annum or such higher or lower rate as, at the date
of the contract of creation of the simple conventional hypothec to secure the
loan, shall have been fixed by the States by regulations made under Article 15
of this Law.]
(3) The
principal of the loan shall be repaid, together with the interest thereon [by
weekly, monthly or quarterly instalments of such
amounts] that the whole shall be repaid within such period,
not exceeding [forty] years
from the date of the contract of creation of the simple conventional hypothec
to secure the loan, as may be agreed upon:
Provided that the whole of the outstanding principal of the loan,
or any part thereof, may at any time be repaid without notice.
[(4) Regulations
made under Article 15 of this Law may empower the Committee, notwithstanding
the foregoing provisions of this Article, to reduce the rate of interest on any
loan for any year by reference to such circumstances as may be prescribed by
the regulations, and, in the case of any such reduction, the periodical instalments payable in that year in respect of the loan
shall be reduced accordingly.]
ARTICLE 6
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO CONTRACTS FOR SECURING LOANS
(1) Every
contract of creation of a simple conventional hypothec to secure a loan shall
state that the loan is made subject to such of the conditions mentioned in
Article 12 of this Law as are applicable but it shall not be necessary to set
out such conditions in the contract.
(2) Every
authority given by the Committee to pass a contract of creation of a simple
conventional hypothec to secure a loan shall be deemed to include an authority
to pass a contract of extinction of the hypothec on the repayment of the
principal of the loan, together with the interest thereon.
(3) *
* * * * * *
ARTICLE 7
PROPERTY TO BE OWNED IN PERPETUITY AND TO BE FREE FROM CHARGES
[Save as may otherwise be provided by regulations made under
Article 15 of this Law] no loan
shall be made where the property on which the loan is to be secured is not in
the sole ownership in perpetuity of the person to whom the loan is to be made,
or where any rentes or hypothecs, whether legal,
judicial or conventional (excluding the eventual right of dower of the wife, if
any, of that person) are charged on the property * * * * * * * *.
ARTICLE 8
LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF LOAN
The amount of the principal of any loan shall not exceed –
(a) where
the loan is required for the purpose specified in sub-paragraph (a) of
Article 3 of this Law, * * * * the
amount which, in the opinion of the Committee, is the value of the property on
which the loan is to be secured, * * * * * * *;
(b) where
the loan is required for a purpose specified in sub-paragraph (b), (c)
or (d) of that Article, * * * * *11 the amount which, in the opinion of
the Committee, will be the value of the said property when the works of
construction or conversion have been carried out, * * * * * *12;
(c) where
the loan is required for the purpose specified in sub-paragraph (e) of
that Article, seventy-five per centum of the amount which, in the opinion of
the Committee, will be the value of the said property when the works of
conversion have been carried out, * * * * * *12;
(d) where
the loan is required for any of the purposes specified in sub-paragraph (f)
of that Article, sixty-five per centum of the amount which, in the opinion of
the Committee, will be the value of the said property when the works of
reconstruction, alteration, enlargement, repair or improvement have been
carried out, * * * * * * *12.
ARTICLE 9
COMMITTEE TO BE SATISFIED THAT HOUSE WILL BE FIT FOR HUMAN
HABITATION
Before lending money for the purpose specified in sub-paragraph (a)
of Article 3 of this Law, the Committee shall satisfy itself that the house to
be acquired is, or will be made, in all respects fit for human habitation, and,
before lending money for any other purpose specified in that Article, the
Committee shall satisfy itself that the house to be constructed, reconstructed,
altered, enlarged, repaired or improved or into which the building is to be
converted, as the case may be, will, when the works of construction,
reconstruction, alteration, enlargement, repair, improvement or conversion have
been completed, be in all respects so fit.
ARTICLE 10
POWER TO ADVANCE LOANS BY INSTALMENTS
Any loan may be advanced by instalments
from time to time as the works of construction, conversion, reconstruction,
alteration, enlargement, repair or improvement, as the case may be, progress.
ARTICLE 11
PROPERTY TO BE KEPT INSURED AGAINST FIRE
Until such time as the principal of a loan, together with the interest
thereon, has been repaid, the property on which the loan is secured shall be
kept insured against fire by the Committee in the names of the States, as
holders of the hypothec, and the owner, and the premiums payable in respect of
the insurance shall be refunded by the owner on demand therefor being made by
or on behalf of the Committee.
ARTICLE 12
CONDITIONS TO BE OBSERVED UNTIL LOAN REPAID
(1) Until
such time as the principal of a loan, together with the interest thereon, has
been repaid, the following conditions shall be observed with respect to the
property on which the loan is secured, namely –
(a) the
property shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of inter vivos except with the consent in
writing of the Committee:
Provided that no such consent shall be given for the sale or
disposal of the property to a person to whom, by virtue of the provisions of
Article 4 of this Law [or of any regulations made under Article 15 of this
Law], a loan may not be made;
[(b) the
owner shall not, by any act or omission on his part, except with the consent in
writing of the Committee and subject to any conditions attached to such
consent, suffer any rente or hypothec, other than a
legal hypothec, to become charged on the property;]
(c) every
sum due in respect of principal and interest of the loan and the insurance of
the property shall be punctually paid;
(d) except
where the loan was made for a purpose specified in sub-paragraph (e) or (f)
of Article 3 of this Law, the owner shall both occupy and reside in the house
and shall not let or otherwise part with the possession of the property to any
other person except with the consent in writing of the Committee;
(e) where
the property is let * * * the
rental shall not exceed such amount as may be determined by the Committee, and
no fine, premium or other like sum shall be demanded or taken in addition to
the rental;
(f) all
reasonable steps shall be taken to secure the maintenance of the house so as to
be in all respects fit for human habitation;
(g) the
house shall not be used for purposes other than those of a private
dwelling-house except with the consent in writing of the Committee and then
only for such further purposes and to such extent as may be specified in that
consent;
(h) a
lessee or tenant shall not assign, sub-let or otherwise part with the
possession of the property except to the owner;
[(i) where the area of the land on which the loan is
secured exceeds one vergée, the land shall be
kept clean and in a good state of cultivation and fertility, and in good
condition, and all reasonable steps shall be taken to secure the maintenance of
the buildings thereon to the extent necessary for the proper cultivation and
working of the land;]
(j) the
Committee, and its agents or servants, shall be permitted to enter the property
at all reasonable times for the purpose of ascertaining whether the foregoing
conditions are being complied with;
(k) the
owner shall not suffer a lessee or tenant to commit a breach of any of the
conditions mentioned in [sub-paragraphs (g), (h), (i) or (j) of this paragraph], and the said conditions shall, so long as they
are required to be observed, be deemed to be part of the terms of any lease,
agreement for a lease or tenancy of the house and shall be enforceable
accordingly.
(2) Where
any property on which a loan is secured is let and the maximum rental has been
determined by the Committee under sub-paragraph (e) of paragraph (1) of
this Article, the provisions of the Dwelling-Houses (Rent Control) (Jersey)
Law, 1946, shall not apply to the
property.
ARTICLE 13
POWERS OF COMMITTEE IN EVENT OF BREACH OF CONDITIONS
(1) In
the event of a breach of any of the conditions mentioned in Article 12 of this
Law, the Committee may apply to the Inferior Number of the Royal Court for an order
vesting in the public the ownership of the property in respect of which the
breach has been committed:
Provided that the Court shall not make such an order unless the
Committee has served on the owner of the property a notice requiring him to
remedy the breach and he has, within one month after the delivery of the
notice, failed to comply therewith.
(2) An
order made under paragraph (1) of this Article shall include an order for the
registration thereof in the Public Registry of Contracts and an order so
registered shall have like effect to a contract passed before the Royal Court
and shall constitute a valid title to the property to which it relates and to
the rights appertaining thereto, and such title shall bear the date of the
order of the Court.
(3) Where
any property is vested in the public by virtue of an order made under paragraph
(1) of this Article, it shall be so vested free of all rentes
and hypothecs, other than legal hypothecs, bearing a date subsequent to that of
the contract of creation of the simple conventional hypothec securing the loan.
(4) An
order registered in pursuance of paragraph (2) of this Article shall not be
renounced for want of insertion in the register of a “décret”
if it bears a date prior to that of the insertion on which a
“tenant” is confirmed in the tenure of the real estate “en décret”.
[(5) Where
any property is vested in the public by virtue of an order made under paragraph
(1) of this Article, the Committee shall, in its discretion, cause it either
–
(a) to
be sold to a person who has made an application for a loan; or
(b) to
be put up for sale by public auction;
and shall, out of the proceeds of the sale, retain any sums due on
account of the principal and interest of the loan, and all costs, charges and
expenses properly incurred in connexion with the
vesting of the property as aforesaid and the sale thereof, and shall pay the
balance to the Viscount for the benefit of the former owner:
Provided that where the owner is unable to sell the property for a
sum sufficient to pay, out of the proceeds of the sale, the principal and
interest of the loan then due, and the costs, charges and expenses properly
incurred in connexion with the vesting of the
property and the sale thereof, the Committee may retain the property under its
own management and shall not be liable to pay any sum to the former owner.]
(6) Where
any money is paid to the Viscount in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph (5) of this Article, he shall immediately cause a notice to be
published in two newspapers circulating in the Island, one being a publication
in French and the other a publication in English, stating that he holds the money on behalf of the
former owner (naming him) and that any person having a claim against the former
owner should take proceedings for the protection of his interests within the
period of six weeks from the date of the first publication of the notice, and
if, within that period no such proceedings have been instituted, or there has
not been lodged with the Viscount notice of an intention to institute such
proceedings, supported by an affidavit, the Viscount shall pay the money to the
former owner.
[(7) Any
notice under the proviso to paragraph (1) of this Article may be served either
–
(a) by
delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served; or
(b) by
leaving it at the usual place of abode of that person; or
(c) by
sending it in a prepaid registered letter addressed to that person at his usual
place of abode; or
(d) if
it is not practicable after reasonable enquiry to ascertain the usual place of
abode of that person, by delivering it to some person on the property to which
the notice relates or, if there is no person on the property to whom it can be
delivered, by affixing it, or a copy of it, to some conspicuous part of the
property.]
ARTICLE 14
FALSE STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION
If any person, for any of the purposes of this Law, knowingly makes
any statement or furnishes any information which is false in a material
particular, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds
sterling or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such
fine and such imprisonment, and, [where a loan, or a reduction in the rate of
interest on a loan, has been obtained by means of such false statement or false
information], the provisions of Article 13 of
this Law (with the exception of the proviso to paragraph (1) thereof) shall
have effect in relation to the property on which the loan is secured as if a
breach of a condition mentioned in Article 12 of this Law had been committed.
[ARTICLE 15
REGULATIONS
The States may make regulations for any purpose for which
regulations may be made under this Law, for restricting the powers conferred on
the Committee by this Law or regulating the exercise of such powers, for
prescribing the forms of contract to be passed for the purposes of this Law,
for providing that in such cases as may be prescribed by the regulations the
costs incurred in connexion with the passing of
contracts of creation of a simple conventional hypothec to secure a loan shall
be paid out of the Fund and generally for the purpose of carrying this Law into
effect.]
ARTICLE 16
SHORT TITLE
This Law may be cited as the Building Loans (Jersey) Law, 1950.
To be printed, published and posted.
F. DE L. BOIS,
Greffier of the States.