(1)A local authority may, for the purpose of enabling it to discharge its functions under this Part, serve a notice on a person falling within subsection (2) (referred to as “A”) requiring A to provide the authority with any of the information mentioned in subsection (3).
(2)A person falls within this subsection if the person appears to the local authority to—
(a)own, occupy or have any other interest in a house in the local authority’s area, or
(b)act in relation to the lease or occupancy arrangement to which any such house is subject.
(3)The information is—
(a)confirmation of the nature of A’s interest in the house,
(b)the name and address of, and information about A’s relationship with, any other person whom A knows to—
(i)own, occupy or have any other interest in the house, or
(ii)act in relation to the lease or occupancy arrangement to which the house is subject,
(c)such other information relating to the house, or such other person, as the local authority may reasonably require.
(4)A person commits an offence if the person—
(a)without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a requirement of a notice served on the person under subsection (1), or
(b)knowingly or recklessly provides information which is false or misleading in a material respect to a local authority or other person—
(i)in purported compliance with a requirement of such a notice, or
(ii)otherwise if the person knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that the information may be used by, or provided to, a local authority for the purpose of the discharge of its functions under this Part.
(5)A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.