This section applies to secure tenants of dwelling-houses to which a heating authority supply heat produced at a heating installation.
The Secretary of State may by regulations require heating authorities to adopt such methods for determining heating charges payable by such tenants as will secure that the proportion of heating costs borne by each of those tenants is no greater than is reasonable.
The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for entitling such tenants, subject to and in accordance with the regulations, to require the heating authority—
to give them, in such form as may be prescribed by the regulations, such information as to heating charges and heating costs as may be so prescribed, and
where such information has been given, to afford them reasonable facilities for inspecting the accounts, receipts and other documents supporting the information and for taking copies or extracts from them.
Regulations under this section—
May make different provision with respect to different cases or descriptions of case, including different provision for different areas;
may make such procedural, incidental, supplementary and transitional provision as appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient, and may in particular provide for any question arising under the regulations to be referred to and determined by the county court; and
shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
In this section—
"heating authority" means a housing authority or housing action trust who operate a heating installation and supply to premises heat produced at the installation;
"heating installation" means a generating station or other installation for producing heat;
references to heat produced at an installation include steam produced from, and air and water heated by, heat so produced;
"heating charge" means an amount payable to a heating authority in respect of heat produced at a heating installation and supplied to premises, including in the case of heat supplied to premises let by the authority such an amount payable as part of the rent;
"heating costs" means expenses incurred by a heating authority in operating a heating installation.