Commentary on provisions of Act The Regulator of Social Housing Section 3: Collection of information
Section 3 amends sections 107 and 108 of the HRA 2008 to broaden the existing power for the regulator to require persons to provide documents or information for purposes connected to its regulatory functions.
	Existing legislation limits the power to request information to that which relates to:
The financial or other affairs of a registered provider;
Activities carried out by a person who is or has applied to become a registered provider; or
Activities carried out by a local authority in England which is, or may become, a provider of social housing.
	Furthermore, at present, the regulator may only require persons to provide information from third parties if the body to which it relates has failed to provide the information or documentation in question, or the regulator thinks the body is unable to provide it.
	The existing power is broadened to enable the regulator to obtain information relating to funds or assets once it has left the regulated sector. It is also amended to enable the regulator to request information directly from third parties, to require a person to provide an explanation and to authorise another person to exercise its powers under section 107. The authorisation must specify the extent to which that person is authorised to exercise any of the regulator’s powers under this section. This will enable specialists, such as forensic accountants, to conduct investigations into a provider on behalf of the regulator if necessary.
	This section further amends section 107 by making it an offence to knowingly or recklessly provide the regulator with a document, information or an explanation which is false or misleading in purported compliance with a requirement under this section.
	The intention of these changes is to provide the regulator with the powers necessary to access information to understand better how a registered provider is operating and in turn improve its investigation into concerns about a provider’s compliance with regulatory standards. For example, the power would enable the regulator to follow money paid to bodies outside of the social housing sector and investigate potential fraud by examining the financial accounts of organisations thought to be deriving profits from the activities of a registered provider. As set out in the Social Housing White Paper, the intention is for this to improve the ability of the regulator to conduct effective economic regulation of private registered providers.