Commentary on provisions of Act Standards Section 26: Failure to meet standards: exercise of intervention powers
Section 26 repeals sections 198A and 198B of the HRA Act 2008.
	Section 198A states that failure by a registered provider to meet a consumer standard is a ground to use the Regulator’s monitoring and enforcement powers in Chapters 6 and 7 of Part 2 of the HRA 2008, and that a risk of failure to meet a consumer standard provides grounds for the use of the Regulator’s monitoring powers.
	Similarly, Section 198B sets out grounds for the use of the Regulator’s monitoring and enforcement powers following a breach, or a risk of a breach, of the economic standards.
	These overarching grounds for the use of monitoring and enforcement powers are removed and replaced, where necessary, by appropriate tailored grounds for each of the powers. These tailored grounds are set out in Schedule 3.
	The repeal of Section 198A also removes the requirement that, in order to exercise powers set out in 198A(3) on grounds of a breach, or risk of a breach, of a consumer standard, the regulator must have reasonable grounds to suspect that that breach, or risk of breach, has caused or could cause ‘serious detriment’ to the registered provider’s tenants or potential tenants.
	The removal of the ‘serious detriment test’ was committed to in the Social Housing White Paper. Abolishing the serious detriment test will allow the regulator to intervene on grounds of a breach or potential breach of the consumer standards, whether or not the breach in question has caused or may cause tenants serious harm.