Small Dwellings Acquisition Act, 1957

What is this act about?

This law amends and extends previous Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, specifically by changing how the cost of building or acquiring a house is calculated for certain advances.

Who it applies to: Local authorities; Individuals seeking advances for acquiring or building small dwellings.

At a glance

Country: Ireland
Area of law: Procedural law
Articles: 3
Source: irishstatutebook.ie
Text retrieved: 2026-06-17
Explanation updated: 2026-07-07

What does this act regulate?

The calculation of the amount a local authority can indicate for an advance for a house.
The process for a person to challenge a local authority's indicated amount for an advance.
The role of the Commissioner of Valuation in reviewing such challenges.
The collection and disposition of fees related to these challenges.

Who does this act apply to?

Local authorities.
Individuals seeking advances for acquiring or building small dwellings.
The Commissioner of Valuation.

What are the key points?

The amount for an advance now includes the reasonable cost of building the house, the value of the person's interest in the site, and reasonable expenses incidental to acquisition if ownership is acquired.
If a person believes a local authority indicated too low an amount for an advance, they can submit their contention to the Commissioner of Valuation upon payment of a prescribed fee.
The Commissioner of Valuation will review the contention and state whether it is well-founded, and if so, the amount they believe should have been indicated.
The Commissioner's statement does not bind the local authority, which retains its discretion regarding the advance amount.

Procedural law

Licensing (Renewal of Licences) Act, 1923

Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984

Children Act, 1997

Courts (No. 2) Act, 1986

Animals Act, 1985

Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) Act, 1994

Irish Legal Terms Act, 1945

Industrial Development (Encouragement of External Investment) Act, 1958

Procedural law

Legal text

Contents (3)

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3

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SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT, 1957.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section

Section 1

Amendment of section 32 of Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950.

Section 2

Application to Commissioner of Valuation in certain cases.

Section 3

Short title, construction and collective citation.

Act Referred to Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950 No. 25 of 1950 Number 11 of 1957.

SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACT, 1957.

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SMALL DWELLINGS ACQUISITION ACTS, 1899 TO 1956. [26th June, 1957.] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:— Amendment of section 32 of Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950.

1.—(1)

Section 32

of the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950 (No. 25 of 1950), is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: “(a) in the case of a house occupied or to be occupied for the first time, the amount which, in the opinion of the local authority, represents the reasonable cost (including all reasonable incidental expenses) of building the house and the value of the interest of the person to whom the advance is made in the site thereof, together with, where the ownership of the house is acquired by the person to whom the advance is made, all reasonable expenses incidental to such acquisition.”

(2)Anything which was effected by a local authority after the 24th day of December, 1956, and before the passing of this Act and which was effected in anticipation of the enactment of subsection (1) of this section shall be valid for all purposes in like manner as if that subsection had been in operation when it was effected.

Application to Commissioner of Valuation in certain cases.

2.—(1) In this section— “the Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Valuation; “the prescribed fee” means such fee as may be appropriate in accordance with a scale of fees prescribed for the purposes of this section by regulations made by the Minister for Finance after consultation with the Minister for Local Government.

(2)Where an amount has been indicated to a person by a local authority under paragraph (a) of section 32 of the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1950 , (No. 25 of 1950), as amended by section 1 of this Act, and that person contends that a greater amount might properly have been indicated, that person may, on payment of the prescribed fee, submit his contention for consideration by the Commissioner.

(3)The Commissioner, after consideration of a contention submitted under subsection (2) of this section and after making such inquiries as he considers necessary, shall state whether or not he considers that the contention is well founded and, if he considers that it is well founded, the amount which he considers might properly have been indicated by the local authority.

(4)A statement by the Commissioner under subsection (3) of this section shall not affect the discretion of the local authority with respect to the advance or the amount thereof.

(5)The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of fees under this section, and all such fees shall be collected or taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs from time to time and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of that Minister.

(6)Any expenses incurred by the Minister for Finance in giving effect to this section shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(7)Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.

Short title, construction and collective citation.

3.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Small Dwellings Acquisition Act, 1957.

(2)This Act shall be read and construed as one with the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, 1899 to 1956, and may be cited together therewith as the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, 1899 to 1957.

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