Housing (Scotland) Act 2001

Registration

57The register of social landlords

(1)The Scottish Ministers are to maintain a register of social landlords and are to keep it open for public inspection at all reasonable times.

(2)A body to which subsection (3) applies is, by virtue of this subsection, registered as a social landlord.

(3)This subsection applies to—

(a)every housing association which, immediately before the commencement of subsection (2), was registered in the register of housing associations maintained under section 3 of the Housing Associations Act 1985 (c. 69), and

(b)any other body which, by order made by the Scottish Ministers, is to be treated as being a housing association so registered.

(4)The Scottish Ministers must, not later than one month before the date on which subsection (2) is to come into force, notify every body appearing to them to be one to which that subsection will apply of that fact and of the effect of that subsection.

58Eligibility for registration

(1)A body is eligible for registration as a social landlord if it is—

(a)a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 (c. 12) which has its registered office for the purposes of that Act in Scotland and satisfies the conditions in subsection (2), or

(b)a company registered under the Companies Act 1985 (c. 6) which has its registered office for the purposes of that Act in Scotland and satisfies those conditions.

(2)The conditions are that the body does not trade for profit and is established for the purpose of, or has among its objects and powers, the provision, construction, improvement or management of—

(a)houses to be kept available for letting,

(b)houses for occupation by members of the body, where the rules of the body restrict membership to persons entitled or prospectively entitled (as tenants or otherwise) to occupy a house provided or managed by the body, or

(c)hostels,

and that any additional purposes or objects are among those specified in subsection (3).

(3)The permissible additional purposes or objects are—

(a)providing land, amenities or services, or providing, constructing, repairing or improving buildings, for its residents, either exclusively or together with other persons,

(b)acquiring, or repairing and improving, or creating by the conversion of houses or other property, houses to be disposed of on sale, on lease or on shared ownership terms,

(c)constructing houses to be disposed of on shared ownership terms,

(d)managing houses which are held on leases or other lettings (not being houses falling within subsection (2)(a) or (b)) or blocks of flats,

(e)providing services of any description for owners or occupiers of houses in—

(i)arranging or carrying out works of maintenance, repair or improvement, or encouraging or facilitating the carrying out of such works,

(ii)arranging property insurance,

(f)encouraging and giving advice on the formation of registered social landlords or providing services for, and giving advice on the running of, such landlords and other voluntary organisations concerned with housing, or matters connected with housing.

(4)A body is not ineligible for registration by reason only that its powers include power—

(a)to acquire commercial premises or businesses as an incidental part of a project or series of projects undertaken for purposes or objects falling within subsection (2) or (3),

(b)to repair, improve or convert any commercial premises acquired as mentioned in paragraph (a) or to carry on for a limited period any business so acquired,

(c)to repair or improve houses, or buildings in which houses are situated, after the tenants have exercised, or claimed to exercise, acquisition rights.

(5)The Scottish Ministers may by order amend the permissible purposes, objects and powers specified in subsections (3) and (4), but any such amendment which restricts or limits those purposes, objects or powers has no effect in relation to a body registered as a social landlord when the order was made.

(6)In this section—

• “acquisition rights” means rights to purchase under section 61 of the 1987 Act,

• “block of flats” means a building containing two or more flats which are held on leases or other lettings and which are occupied or intended to be occupied wholly or mainly for residential purposes,

• “disposed of on shared ownership terms” means disposed of under a shared ownership agreement (defined in section 83(3)),

• “letting” includes the grant of a right or permission to occupy,

• “residents”, in relation to a body, means persons occupying the houses or hostels provided or managed by the body,

• “voluntary organisation” means an organisation whose activities are not carried on for profit.

59Registration

(1)The Scottish Ministers may register as a social landlord any body which is eligible for such registration.

(2)An application for registration must be made in such manner, and accompanied by such fee (if any), as the Scottish Ministers may determine.

(3)As soon as may be after registering a body which is an industrial and provident society as a social landlord the Scottish Ministers must give notice of the registration to the Financial Services Authority, which must record the registration.

(4)A body which at any time is, or was, registered as a social landlord is, for all purposes other than rectification of the register, to be conclusively presumed to be, or to have been, at that time a body eligible for registration as a social landlord.

60Removal from the register

(1)A body which has been registered as a social landlord is not to be removed from the register except in accordance with this section.

(2)If it appears to the Scottish Ministers that a body which is on the register of social landlords—

(a)is no longer a body eligible for such registration,

(b)has ceased to exist or does not operate, or

(c)meets the criteria for removal from the register established under section 61,

the Scottish Ministers may, after giving the body at least 14 days' notice, remove it from the register.

(3)In the case of a body which appears to the Scottish Ministers to have ceased to exist, or not to operate, notice under subsection (2) is deemed to be given to the body if it is served at the address last known to the Scottish Ministers to be the principal place of business of the body.

(4)A body which is registered as a social landlord may request the Scottish Ministers to remove it from the register and the Scottish Ministers may do so if they are satisfied that the body meets the criteria for removal established under section 61.

(5)As soon as may be after removing a body which is an industrial and provident society from the register of social landlords the Scottish Ministers must give notice of the removal to the Financial Services Authority, which must record the removal.

61Criteria for registration or removal from register

(1)The Scottish Ministers must establish (and may from time to time vary) criteria to be satisfied by a body seeking registration as a social landlord; and in deciding whether to register a body the Scottish Ministers must have regard to whether those criteria are met.

(2)The Scottish Ministers must establish (and may from time to time vary) criteria to be satisfied where a body seeks to be removed from the register of social landlords; and in deciding whether to remove a body from the register the Scottish Ministers must have regard to whether those criteria are met.

(3)Before establishing or varying any such criteria the Scottish Ministers must consult—

(a)such bodies representing registered social landlords,

(b)such bodies representing tenants of registered social landlords, and

(c)such other persons,

as they think fit.

(4)The Scottish Ministers must publish the criteria for registration and the criteria for removal in such manner as they think fit.

62Appeal against decision on registration or removal

(1)A body which is aggrieved by a decision of the Scottish Ministers—

(a)not to register it as a social landlord, or

(b)to remove or not to remove it from the register of social landlords,

may appeal against the decision to the Court of Session.

(2)If an appeal is brought against a decision relating to the removal of a body from the register, the Scottish Ministers must not remove the body from the register until the appeal has been finally determined or is withdrawn.

(3)As soon as may be after an appeal is brought against a decision relating to the removal of a body which is an industrial and provident society from the register, the Scottish Ministers must give notice of the appeal to the Financial Services Authority.