Housing (Scotland) Act 2001

Responsibility for securing compliance with accounting requirements

15 (1) Every responsible person, that is to say, every person who—

(a) is directly concerned with the conduct and management of the affairs of a registered social landlord, and

(b) is in that capacity responsible for the preparation and audit of accounts,

must ensure that paragraph 13 is complied with by the landlord.

(2) If—

(a) paragraph 13(4) is not complied with, or

(b) the accounts submitted to the Scottish Ministers under that provision do not comply with the accounting requirements determined under paragraph 13(1),

every responsible person, and the registered social landlord itself, is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3) In proceedings for an offence under this paragraph it is a defence—

(a) for a responsible person to prove that that person did everything that could reasonably have been expected of the person by way of discharging the relevant duty,

(b) for a registered social landlord to prove that every responsible person did everything that could reasonably have been expected of the person by way of discharging the relevant duty in relation to the registered social landlord.