Commentary on provisions of Act General Schedule 5: Minor and consequential amendments Part 1: Housing and Regeneration Act 2008
Part 1 contains minor and consequential amendments to the HRA 2008, including the below.
	Paragraph 4 omits subsections (2) to (5) of section 79. As community land trusts are removed from the definition of ‘English body’, these provisions are removed as consequential amendments.
	Paragraphs 6, 27(b), 30 and 31 make the references to the housing ombudsman consistent in the HRA 2008. A definition of housing ombudsman is inserted by section 5.
	Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 are consequential on the amendment made by section 6 to the meaning of English body.
	Paragraph 11 amends section 122 (payments to members etc) so that the regulator may enforce the restrictions on the making of gifts and the payment of dividends and bonuses by any type of non-profit registered provider.
	Paragraph 12 amends section 135 (charity accounts) to extend its provisions to for profit organisations that are registered charities.
	Paragraph 13 amends section 153 of the HRA 2008 to remove the specification that moratorium proposals must be sent to the officers of a registered provider.
	Paragraph 14 creates a new section (169ZA) which provides that the group of sections relating to notification of constitutional changes does not apply to local authorities.
	The changes made by paragraph 15 are consequential on the extension of notification requirements to profit-making organisations by section 15, as well as notification requirements created by sections 19 and 20.
	Paragraph 17(a) clarifies that the regulator’s consumer standard setting power includes setting standards for registered providers as to the safety and energy efficiency of accommodation, facilities or services provided by them in connection with social housing (consistent with the change to the regulator’s objectives in section 1). Paragraph 17(b) clarifies that the regulator’s consumer standard setting power includes requiring registered providers to comply with specified rules about policies and procedures in place around domestic abuse.
	Paragraph 19 amends section 197 of the HRA 2008 by providing that safety and energy efficiency of accommodation are matters on which the Secretary of State may give a direction to the regulator under subsections (1)(a) and (b). The other matters on which the Secretary of State may give such a direction are quality of accommodation, tenure, rent, tenant involvement, and methods of assisting tenants to exchange tenancies. The change makes section 197 consistent with changes made in section 1 where safety and energy efficiency are made explicit in the fundamental objectives for the regulator.
	Paragraph 20 inserts a new subsection (6) in section 198 (supplemental provision about standards) which provides that in setting standards the regulator must have regard to the desirability of registered providers being free to choose how to provide services and conduct business. Paragraphs 17(c) and 18 make consequential amendments.
	Paragraphs 21 and 22 amend sections 203(3) and 208(4) as consequential amendments following the changes to section 107 of the HRA 2008 by section 3 of this Act.
	Paragraph 23 removes a requirement for the regulator to publish guidance about the information it receives about the performance of registered providers. The regulator is being given powers through section 27: "Performance monitoring" to require landlords to provide performance information and set directions in relation to this and this new section contains separate requirements for the regulator to bring these to the attention of every registered provider they apply to.
	Paragraphs 27(c), 28, 29, 32(b), 33 are consequential amendments to the HRA 2008 to repeal provisions which allowed a range of enforcement powers to be used by the regulator on the grounds that a registered provider failed to comply with social housing rent requirements in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. The requirements in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 have now fallen away because they applied in relation to registered providers only for four relevant years. The latest date on which the four relevant years could expire was 30 March 2021. Consequently, those grounds will become redundant in due course.
	Paragraphs 34, 37, 39 and 40 amend sections 256 (restrictions on dealings during inquiry), 259 (suspension during inquiry), 269 (appointment of new officers) and 269A (local authorities: censure during or following inquiry) respectively. They amend the language used to express the standard which must be met for exercise of the relevant power in order to achieve greater consistency within Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.
	Paragraphs 35 and 38 update the drafting of sections 258 (restrictions on dealing: supplemental) and 264 (offence of acting as an officer while disqualified) HRA 2008 to make clear that an offence under the relevant section is punishable on summary conviction with an unlimited fine (as is currently the case by virtue of section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012).
	Paragraph 36 alters the heading that precedes section 259 HRA 2008 because the powers it refers to are now to be applicable to both for-profit and non-profit providers.
	Paragraph 41 is a consequential amendment on the extension of enforcement powers to charities who have not received public assistance.
	Paragraph 42 amends the definition of ‘local authorities’ for the purposes of this Act. Paragraph 10 makes an amendment consequential on this.