What this covers
Why you need it
Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Housing Act 1996.
What the Act carries
What our graph holds for Housing Act 1996 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves.
- Duties on businesses
- 40
- Penalties
- 8
- Exemptions
- 7
Duties on businesses under the Act
- Remove surplus local authority appointees from your board to meet the 24% limit s.7C
- Notify Welsh Ministers when disposing of land s.9
- Consent to priority of advances for approved purposes and serve postponement notice s.12
- Give occupiers at least 7 days' notice of proposed survey s.37
- Directors, committee members or trustees must cooperate to implement agreed rescue proposals s.45
- Appointed manager must act as agent, consult tenants and avoid personal liability s.47
… and 34 more business duties in the same Act.
What happens if you get it wrong
- Contravene regulatory order against a registered social landlord 3 months imprisonment
- Disobey housing regulator asset freeze order 3 months imprisonment
- Fail to comply with inquiry notice or provide false information Unlimited fine
- Fail to disclose information or documents as required Unlimited fine
- Fail to meet accounting and audit obligations Unlimited fine
… and 3 more penalties in the same Act.
Exemptions that may take you outside it
- England-only housing failures exempt from Welsh amalgamation powers — The failure relates only to the registered social landlord's provision of housing in England
- English housing failures exempt from Welsh Ministers' enforcement — The failure relates only to the registered social landlord's provision of housing in England
- English-only housing associations exempt from Welsh Ministers' management transfer powers — The failure relates only to the registered social landlord's provision of housing in England
- Local housing authorities exempt from landlord information rules — Landlord authority is a local housing authority (e.g. a council housing department)
- Registered charities exempt from social housing regulator's intervention powers — Your organisation is a registered charity
… and 2 more exemptions in the same Act.
Read our full dossier on Housing Act 1996
Who issues it
Your local council issues this. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales.
Where to apply
Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.