Housing Corporation (delegation) etc Act 2006

The Housing Corporation (Delegation) etc Act 2006 completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent on 19 July 2006.

The Act was introduced in Parliament in March 2006 after sustained negotiations between the CML and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

The Act addresses the problems unearthed by the discovery in January 2006 that the Housing Corporation (HC) had, over a prolonged period, been acting beyond its powers by delegating consents given under the Housing Act 1996 principally those required under S.9 of the Act. This discovery called into question the validity of a range of land related transactions by registered social landlords including the giving of security to lenders in respect of loans. This created a degree of legal uncertainty for lenders, which needed to be addressed quickly.

The Act deals with the immediate consequences of the HC acting beyond its powers by giving the HC and Housing for Wales the power to delegate its functions "to any of its members, committee, sub-committees or employees" and retrospectively validates action already taken. The Act extends to Scotland as well as to England and Wales.