Commentary on provisions of Act Monitoring and enforcement Schedule 3: Regulatory and enforcement powers Appointment of a manager
Schedule 3, paragraph 8 amends section 251 of the HRA 2008 to provide that the regulator may appoint an organisation as a manager of a private registered provider, by removing the reference to appointing an ‘individual’.
	Section 251 provides that the regulator can appoint a manager of a private registered provider of social housing that has failed to comply with regulatory standards or been found to have mismanaged its affairs. The amendment in paragraph 7 removes the reference to an ‘individual’, enabling the regulator to appoint an organisation as a manager if required. This will allow the regulator to draw from a wider pool of potential managers. Organisations may be more effective in cases where wider expertise, skills and capacity are required to improve the management of a provider quickly and effectively.
	Section 252 states that the regulator must give the registered provider notice of its intention to appoint a manager. Paragraph 9 amends section 252 to change the 28-day minimum representations period to a 5-day period. The 5-day representations period will commence on the day that the provider receives the notice. The regulator will not be able to appoint a manager until the expiry of this 5-day period, unless the registered provider consents. The reduction in the period for representations will allow the regulator to intervene quickly and take urgent action to remedy issues such as critical financial viability problems or serious deficiencies in service delivery.