|
| |
| |
| |
(1) | The Secretary of State may make regulations providing that specified |
| |
accommodation, or a specified class of accommodation, is or is not to be treated |
| |
as social housing for the purposes of this Part. |
| |
(2) | The regulations may provide for accommodation to be social housing despite |
| 5 |
not satisfying section 67(1)(a) or (b) where the Secretary of State thinks the |
| |
accommodation is of a kind, or is provided in circumstances, that serve the |
| |
needs of a group whose needs are not adequately served by the commercial |
| |
| |
| 10 |
(a) | may override section 67(2), |
| |
(b) | are subject to sections 67(3) and 76, and |
| |
(c) | are subject to sections 68 and 69 (but may clarify doubt about the |
| |
application of those sections). |
| |
| 15 |
(a) | may make provision by reference to the opinion of the regulator or |
| |
another specified person, and |
| |
(b) | may make provision by reference to designation, agreement or other |
| |
action by the regulator or another specified person. |
| |
72 | Leaving the social housing stock: sale |
| 20 |
(1) | A dwelling ceases to be social housing if it is sold to the tenant. |
| |
(2) | Low cost rental accommodation is “sold to the tenant” when the tenant |
| |
exercises a statutory or contractual right and as a result becomes the owner |
| |
| |
(a) | the freehold interest in the property, or |
| 25 |
(b) | the leasehold interest previously owned by the person providing the |
| |
| |
(3) | Low cost home ownership accommodation of the shared ownership kind is |
| |
“sold to the tenant” when the tenant exercises a statutory or contractual right |
| |
and as a result becomes the owner of— |
| 30 |
(a) | the freehold interest in the property, or |
| |
(b) | the leasehold interest previously owned by the person providing the |
| |
| |
(4) | Low cost home ownership accommodation of the equity percentage kind is |
| |
“sold to the tenant” when the “buyer” (see section 69(3)(a)) exercises a statutory |
| 35 |
or contractual right as a result of which the equity percentage arrangements |
| |
(see section 69(3)) come to an end. |
| |
(5) | Low cost home ownership accommodation of the shared ownership trust kind |
| |
comes to an end when the “purchaser” (see paragraph 7(4)(a) of Schedule 9 to |
| |
the Finance Act 2003) exercises a statutory or contractual right as a result of |
| 40 |
which the trust comes to an end. |
| |
73 | Leaving the social housing stock: expired lease |
| |
(1) | A dwelling ceases to be social housing if— |
| |
(a) | the provider holds a leasehold interest in the dwelling, and |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
(b) | the leasehold interest expires. |
| |
(2) | A lease from an associate or subsidiary of the provider is disregarded for the |
| |
purposes of subsection (1). |
| |
74 | Leaving the social housing stock: disposal with consent |
| |
(1) | A dwelling ceases to be social housing if it is disposed of with the regulator’s |
| 5 |
consent in accordance with Chapter 5. |
| |
(2) | Subsection (1) does not apply if the consent is conditional upon the dwelling |
| |
continuing to be low cost rental accommodation or low cost home ownership |
| |
| |
(3) | A condition of that kind shall include provision for determining when the |
| 10 |
dwelling ceases to be social housing. |
| |
75 | Leaving the social housing stock: regulator’s direction |
| |
(1) | The regulator may direct that a specified dwelling, which has ceased to be low |
| |
cost rental accommodation or low cost home ownership accommodation, is to |
| |
cease to be social housing. |
| 15 |
(2) | The regulator may make a direction only on the application of the provider. |
| |
76 | Housing stock under Housing Act 1996 |
| |
(1) | This section applies to property owned by a registered social landlord within |
| |
the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996 (c. 52) before the coming into |
| |
force of section 63 of this Act. |
| 20 |
(2) | Property to which this section applies is social housing— |
| |
(a) | whether or not it satisfies section 67(1)(a) or (b), and |
| |
(b) | unless and until an event specified in sections 72 to 75 occurs. |
| |
(3) | But property to which any of the exceptions below applies when section 63 |
| |
comes into force is social housing only if the purchase, construction or |
| 25 |
renovation of the property was funded by means of a grant under— |
| |
(a) | section 22 (financial assistance by the HCA), |
| |
(b) | section 18 of the Housing Act 1996 (social housing grant), or |
| |
(c) | section 50 of the Housing Act 1988 (c. 50), section 41 of the Housing |
| |
Associations Act 1985 (c. 69) or section 29 or 29A of the Housing Act |
| 30 |
1974 (c. 44) (housing association grant). |
| |
(4) | Exception 1 is accommodation let on the open market. |
| |
(5) | Exception 2 is a care home (within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000 |
| |
(c. 14)) in which nursing is provided. |
| |
(6) | Exception 3 is accommodation provided in response to a request by the |
| 35 |
Secretary of State under section 100 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 |
| |
(c. 33) (support for asylum seekers). |
| |
(7) | Exception 4 is property of a kind specified by regulations made by the |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
77 | Regulator of Social Housing |
| |
(1) | Section 80 establishes the Office referred to in this Part as “the regulator”. |
| |
(2) | Chapter 2 makes provision for the regulator’s constitution and general powers. |
| |
(3) | Other provisions of this Part confer functions on the regulator. |
| 5 |
| |
In this Part “English body” means— |
| |
(a) | a registered charity whose address for the purposes of registration by |
| |
the Charity Commission is in England, |
| |
(b) | an industrial and provident society whose registered office for the |
| 10 |
purposes of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 (c. 12) is in |
| |
| |
(c) | a registered company which has its registered office in England, and |
| |
(d) | any other person (whether or not a body corporate registered under the |
| |
law of the United Kingdom) which— |
| 15 |
(i) | is not a Welsh body within the meaning of section 1A of the |
| |
Housing Act 1996 (c. 52), and |
| |
(ii) | makes available, or intends to make available, accommodation |
| |
| |
79 | Provider of social housing |
| 20 |
(1) | In this Chapter a reference to the provider of social housing is to be construed |
| |
| |
| | | | | | | | Low cost rental accommodation |
| | | | | | | | | 25 | | | accommodation: shared ownership |
| | | | | | | “The seller” within the meaning of section |
| | | | | accommodation: equity percentage |
| | | | | | | The “social landlord” within the meaning |
| | | | | accommodation: shared ownership trust |
| of paragraph 7(3) of Schedule 9 to the |
| | 30 | | | | | | |
|
(2) | Chapter 3 provides for the establishment of a register of providers of social |
| |
housing: persons listed in the register— |
| |
(a) | may be referred to in an enactment or other instrument as “registered |
| |
providers of social housing”, and |
| 35 |
(b) | are referred to in this Part as “registered providers”. |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
The Social Housing Regulator |
| |
| |
| |
(1) | There shall be a body corporate to be known as the Office for Tenants and |
| 5 |
| |
| |
(a) | may be referred to in an enactment or other instrument as “the |
| |
Regulator of Social Housing”, and |
| |
(b) | is referred to in this Part as “the regulator”. |
| 10 |
(3) | The Office (and any member of the Office)— |
| |
(a) | is not the servant or agent of the Crown, and |
| |
(b) | does not share any immunity or privilege of the Crown. |
| |
| |
(1) | The regulator shall consist of— |
| 15 |
(a) | a person appointed by the Secretary of State as chair, |
| |
(b) | neither less than 3 nor more than 10 other members appointed by the |
| |
| |
(c) | the chief executive appointed under section 83. |
| |
(2) | The Secretary of State must consult the chair before appointing other members. |
| 20 |
(3) | The Secretary of State may appoint a person under subsection (1) only if |
| |
satisfied that the person has no financial or other personal interest in the |
| |
performance of functions. |
| |
(4) | Former membership of the Housing Corporation is not a bar to appointment. |
| |
(5) | In this Part “appointed member” means— |
| 25 |
| |
(b) | a member appointed under subsection (1)(b). |
| |
(6) | A vacancy for, or a defect in the appointment of, the chair, the chief executive |
| |
or another member does not prevent or invalidate proceedings. |
| |
| 30 |
(1) | An appointed member holds and vacates office in accordance with the terms |
| |
of appointment (subject to this section). |
| |
(2) | A period of appointment may not exceed 5 years (but a member may be |
| |
| |
(3) | An appointed member may resign by notice to the Secretary of State. |
| 35 |
(4) | The Secretary of State may dismiss an appointed member if satisfied that any |
| |
of the following cases applies— |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
(a) | Case 1 is where a member has been absent from meetings of the |
| |
regulator for a period of more than 6 months without its permission. |
| |
(b) | Case 2 is where a member is subject to— |
| |
(i) | a bankruptcy restrictions order, or |
| |
(ii) | an interim bankruptcy restrictions order. |
| 5 |
| |
(i) | a member’s estate has been sequestrated by a court in Scotland, |
| |
| |
(ii) | under the law of Scotland, a member has made a composition |
| |
or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, creditors. |
| 10 |
(d) | Case 4 is where a member has a financial or other personal interest |
| |
which is likely to influence the performance of functions. |
| |
(e) | Case 5 is where a member has misbehaved or is for any other reason |
| |
unable, unsuitable or unwilling to perform functions. |
| |
| 15 |
(1) | The regulator shall appoint a chief executive. |
| |
(2) | The regulator may appoint a person only if approved by the Secretary of State. |
| |
(3) | The first chief executive shall be appointed by the Secretary of State, having |
| |
| |
| 20 |
The regulator may appoint employees (in addition to the chief executive). |
| |
85 | Consequential amendments |
| |
(1) | In Part 2 of the Table at the end of paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Public |
| |
Records Act 1958 (c. 51) (bodies whose records are public records) insert at the |
| |
| 25 |
“Office for Tenants and Social Landlords.” |
| |
(2) | In Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 |
| |
(c. 24) (bodies of which all members disqualified) insert at the appropriate |
| |
| |
“Office for Tenants and Social Landlords.” |
| 30 |
(3) | In Part 6 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) (public |
| |
bodies and offices) insert at the appropriate place— |
| |
“Office for Tenants and Social Landlords.” |
| |
| |
86 | Fundamental objectives |
| 35 |
(1) | The regulator shall perform its functions with a view to achieving the |
| |
following objectives so far as possible. |
| |
(2) | Objective 1 is to encourage and support a supply of well-managed social |
| |
housing, of appropriate quality, sufficient to meet reasonable demands. |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
(3) | Objective 2 is to ensure that actual or potential tenants of social housing have |
| |
an appropriate degree of— |
| |
| |
| |
(4) | Objective 3 is to ensure that tenants of social housing have the opportunity to |
| 5 |
be involved in its management. |
| |
(5) | Objective 4 is to ensure that registered providers of social housing perform |
| |
their functions efficiently, effectively and economically. |
| |
(6) | Objective 5 is to ensure that registered providers of social housing are |
| |
financially viable and properly managed. |
| 10 |
(7) | Objective 6 is to encourage registered providers of social housing to contribute |
| |
to the environmental, social and economic well-being of the areas in which the |
| |
| |
(8) | Objective 7 is to encourage investment in social housing. |
| |
(9) | Objective 8 is to avoid the imposition of an unreasonable burden (directly or |
| 15 |
indirectly) on public funds. |
| |
(10) | Objective 9 is to guard against the misuse of public funds. |
| |
(11) | Objective 10 is to regulate in a manner which— |
| |
(a) | minimises interference, and |
| |
(b) | is proportionate, consistent, transparent and accountable. |
| 20 |
(12) | Pursuit of Objective 10 includes, but is not necessarily limited to, compliance |
| |
with any duty of the regulator under section 22 of the Legislative and |
| |
Regulatory Reform Act 2006 (c. 51) (code of practice). |
| |
(13) | The order in which the objectives are listed in this section is not significant; the |
| |
regulator shall balance them as it thinks appropriate. |
| 25 |
(14) | The objectives are referred to in this Part as the regulator’s fundamental |
| |
| |
| |
(1) | The regulator may determine its own procedure (which may include provision |
| |
| 30 |
(2) | The regulator shall make such arrangements as it thinks appropriate for |
| |
publishing its procedure. |
| |
| |
(1) | The regulator’s procedural arrangements under section 87 must include |
| |
arrangements for dealing with any conflict of interest of— |
| 35 |
| |
| |
(c) | members of committees and sub-committees. |
| |
(2) | The arrangements must oblige a person— |
| |
(a) | to declare any financial or other personal interest relevant to the |
| 40 |
exercise of a function, and |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
(b) | withdraw from the performance of that function unless the regulator |
| |
directs otherwise, being satisfied that the interest will not influence |
| |
performance of the function. |
| |
| |
(1) | The regulator may establish committees and sub-committees. |
| 5 |
(2) | A committee or sub-committee may include non-members (provided that it |
| |
includes at least one member). |
| |
| |
The regulator may authorise any of the following to exercise a function— |
| |
| 10 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
(1) | As soon as is reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year the |
| 15 |
| |
(a) | prepare a report on the performance of its functions during the year, |
| |
| |
(b) | send a copy to the Secretary of State. |
| |
(2) | The report must, in particular— |
| 20 |
(a) | include a statement of the regulator’s accounts, and |
| |
(b) | specify any direction given to the regulator by the Secretary of State in |
| |
that year under section 177. |
| |
(3) | The Secretary of State shall lay a copy before Parliament. |
| |
| 25 |
| |
(1) | The regulator may do anything it thinks necessary or expedient for the purpose |
| |
of or in connection with the performance of a function conferred on it by this |
| |
Part or another enactment. |
| |
(2) | In particular, the regulator may do anything it thinks appropriate for |
| 30 |
advancing its fundamental objectives. |
| |
| |
(1) | The regulator may carry out or commission studies designed to improve the |
| |
economy, effectiveness and efficiency of registered providers. |
| |
(2) | The regulator may publish a report on a study. |
| 35 |
| |
| |
|
