Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (c. 36)

Schedules

Section 36

Schedule 3 Regulatory and enforcement powers

1 The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 is amended as follows.

2 In section 201 (inspections) omit subsections (2) and (2A).

3 In section 206 (inquiry)—

(a) for subsection (1) substitute—

“(1) The regulator may hold an inquiry into the affairs of a registered provider if the regulator suspects that—

(a) the affairs of the registered provider may have been mismanaged,

(b) the registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C, or

(c) there is a risk that, if no action is taken by the regulator or the registered provider, the registered provider will fail to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”;

(b) in subsection (4)(a), for “, employees or consultants” substitute “or employees”;

(c) omit subsection (5).

4 In section 226 (overview of provisions on penalties) omit “private”.

5 In section 227 (grounds for imposition of penalty), in subsection (1), omit “private”.

6 In section 229 (amount of penalty)—

(a) in subsection (2), after “penalty” insert “that may be”;

(b) in that subsection, for “may not exceed £5,000” substitute “is unlimited”;

(c) omit subsection (3).

7 In section 249 (management transfer), in subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (a), omit “or”;

(b) at the end of paragraph (b) insert “, or

(c) the registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”

8 In section 251 (appointment of manager of a private registered provider), in subsection (2), in both places, omit “an individual as”.

9 In section 252 (supplementary provisions about appointment of manager)—

(a) for subsection (2) substitute—

“(2) The registered provider may make representations to the regulator about the notice within the period of 5 days beginning with the day on which the provider receives the notice.”;

(b) after subsection (2) insert—

“(2A) Unless the registered provider consents, the regulator may not take action under section 251(2) before the expiry of the period within which the provider may make representations.”;

(c) omit subsection (3).

10 In section 252A (appointment of advisers to local authorities), in subsection (2)—

(a) in the words before paragraph (a), for “thinks” substitute “is satisfied”;

(b) at the end of paragraph (d) (inserted by section 10) insert—

“(e) that the authority has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C,”.

11 In section 253 (transfer of land by private registered provider), in subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (a), omit “or”;

(b) at the end of paragraph (b) insert “, or

(c) the registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”

12 In section 255 (amalgamation), in subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (a), omit “or”;

(b) at the end of paragraph (b) insert “, or

(c) the registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”

13 In section 256 (restrictions on dealings during inquiry)—

(a) in subsection (1)(a), for “non-profit” substitute “private”;

(b) in subsection (3), for the words from “that” to the end substitute “that—

(a) the affairs of the registered provider have been mismanaged, or

(b) the registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 194.”

14 In section 257 (restrictions on dealings following inquiry), in subsection (1), for the words from “that” to the end substitute “that—

(a) the affairs of a private registered provider have been mismanaged, or

(b) a private registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 194.”

15 In section 259 (suspension of officer etc during inquiry)—

(a) in subsection (1)(a), for “non-profit” substitute “private”;

(b) in subsection (1)(b), for “either” substitute “any”;

(c) in subsection (3), for the words from “that” to the end substitute “that—

(a) the affairs of the registered provider have been mismanaged, or

(b) the registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”;

(d) after subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) Case 3 applies if the regulator is satisfied that an officer, employee or agent of the registered provider is obstructing, or failing to co-operate with, the inquiry.”;

(e) for subsection (4) substitute—

“(4) The regulator may by order—

(a) where Case 1 or Case 2 applies, suspend any officer, employee or agent of the registered provider who it thinks has contributed to the mismanagement or failure, or

(b) where Case 3 applies, suspend the officer, employee or agent who it thinks is obstructing, or failing to co-operate with, the inquiry.”

16 In section 260 (removal or suspension of officer etc following inquiry)—

(a) in subsection (1), for the words from “that” to the end substitute “that—

(a) the affairs of a private registered provider have been mismanaged, or

(b) a private registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”;

(b) in subsection (2), for the words from “who” to the end substitute “who—

(a) it thinks has contributed to the mismanagement or failure, or

(b) it thinks obstructed, or failed to co-operate with, the inquiry under section 206.”

17 In section 266 (removal of officers)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “non-profit” substitute “private”;

(b) after subsection (8) insert—

“(9) Case 8 applies to a person who is obstructing the regulator, or failing to co-operate with the regulator, in the performance of the regulator’s functions under this Part.”

18 In section 269 (appointment of new officers)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “non-profit” substitute “private”;

(b) in subsection (1)(b), omit “or”;

(c) after subsection (1)(b) insert—

“(ba) in the case of a registered provider which is a registered charity, registered society or registered company, if none of the officers is a board member,

(bb) if the regulator is satisfied that the registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C, or”;

(d) after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) In subsection (1)(ba), “board member” means—

(a) in the case of a registered charity which is not a registered company, a charity trustee within the meaning given by section 177 of the Charities Act 2011;

(b) in the case of a registered society, a member of its committee within the meaning given by section 149 of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014;

(c) in the case of a registered company, a director within the meaning given by section 250 of the Companies Act 2006.”;

(e) in subsection (4)(a)—

(i) leave out “on expiry”;

(ii) after “appointment” insert “(on any number of occasions)”.

19 In section 269A (local authorities: censure during or following inquiry)—

(a) in subsection (3), for the words from “that” to the end substitute “that—

(a) the affairs of the authority have been mismanaged, or

(b) the authority has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”;

(b) in subsection (4), for the words from “that” to the end substitute “that—

(a) the affairs of the authority have been mismanaged, or

(b) the authority has failed to meet a standard under section 193, 194 or 194C.”

20 In section 269B (response to censure notice), in subsection (2)(c), after “mismanaged” insert “or it has failed to meet the standard (as the case may be).”