Eligibility
Section 112 - Eligibility for registration
232.Subsection (1)of section 112 indicates that an English body is eligible for registration if it satisfies the conditions of this section, and does not fall within the exceptions specified in section 113. “English body” is defined in section 79.
233.This section removes the restrictions that applied under section 2 of the 1996 Act on the constitutional form and objectives of RSLs in England, but which continue to apply in respect of Welsh bodies.
234.Registration is not compulsory for persons that provide social housing as defined by section 68. However, grant funding might, for example, be conditional on being registered.
235.Subsection (2) requires that a body must be a provider of social housing in England, or intend to become one as a condition of registration.
236.Subsection (3) requires that the body must satisfy any relevant criteria that have been set by the regulator in respect of:
its financial situation
its constitution, and
other arrangements for its management.
237.Subsection (4) requires that before the regulator sets any criteria for eligibility for registration, the regulator must consult:
the HCA
one or more bodies representative of the interests of registered providers, and
one or more bodies representative of the interests of tenants.
Section 113 - Local authority non-registrable bodies
238.This section sets out the exceptions to section 112(1).
239.Subsection (2) specifies that local housing authorities, as defined in section 1 of the Housing Act 1985, are not eligible for registration.
240.Subsection (3) specifies that county councils are not eligible for registration.
241.Subsection (4) specifies that a person controlled by an authority that is within subsections (2) or (3) is not eligible for registration.
242.Subsection (5) gives the Secretary of State the power to make regulations defining when a person is controlled by an authority for the purposes of subsection (4).
243.Subsection (6) provides that the definition of person controlled by a local authority may be expressed by reference to a document identified in regulations under section 21(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 2003.
Section 114 – Registration of local authorities
244.This section allows the Secretary of State to make an order, under the affirmative resolution procedure, to amend or modify as necessary or desirable Part 2 of the Act or other legislation so as to enable the regulator to regulate local authorities. It also allows such an order to require the regulator to register a specific local authority or specific class of local authority. The section requires that before making an order the Secretary of State must consult an authority or person likely to be affected by it and such other persons as the Secretary of State thinks fit.
Section 115 - Profit-making and non-profit organisations
245.Subsection (1) of this section provides that the register kept under section 111 must designate each registered person as either a non-profit organisation or a profit-making organisation. The restriction in section 2(2) of the 1996 Act that requires RSLs to be non-profit making is not replicated.
246.Subsections (2) to (6) define a non-profit organisation.
247.Subsection (2) specifies a registered or non-registrable charity as a non-profit organisation.
248.Subsection (3) specifies that a body is also a non-profit organisation if it meets the conditions specified in subsections (4) to (6). These conditions are-
that it does not trade for profit or that its constitution prohibits it from issuing capital with interest or dividend in excess of the specified rate (this condition
replicates the definition of non-profit organisation in section 2(3) of the 1996 Act); and
a purpose of the body is the provision or management of housing; and
any other purposes of the body are connected with or incidental to the provision of housing.
249.Subsection (7) gives the Secretary of State the power to make regulations providing that a specified purpose is, or is not, connected with or incidental to the provision of housing.
250.Subsection (8) defines a profit-making organisation as any organisation which is not a non-profit organisation.
251.These definitions are the basis on which the regulator will make the designation in the register provided for in subsection (1).
252.Subsection (9) requires the regulator to change the designation in the register where a profit-making organisation becomes a non-profit organisation as defined in this section.
