ABSTRACT
This chapter contains a review of those statutory provisions which are specifically relevant to land held by local authorities. The term 'HRA' is the commonly used abbreviation for 'Housing Revenue Account' as defined by section 74 Local Government and Housing Act 1989. It is also the shorthand for any land currently held by local authorities under the Housing Act 1985. The HRA is a ring-fenced financial account which any local authority renting out housing directly is required to maintain and which is subject to tight statutory controls on what revenue goes into the account and what money is paid out of it. This is the main power allowing a local authority to appropriate land from one statutory purpose to another statutory purpose. The qualifier is that the land is no longer required for the statutory purpose for which it was originally acquired.
