Section 236 — Housing Act 2004: Enforcement of powers to obtain information

Enforcement of powers to obtain information 236 1 A person commits an offence if he fails to do anything required of him by a notice under section 235.

2 In proceedings against a person for an offence under subsection (1) it is a defence that he had a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with the notice.

3 A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

4 A person commits an offence if he intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document which he has been required to produce by a notice under section 235.

5 A person who commits an offence under subsection (4) is liable—

a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

b on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

6 In this section “ document ” includes information recorded otherwise than in legible form, and in relation to information so recorded—

a the reference to the production of a document is a reference to the production of a copy of the information in legible form, and b the reference to suppressing a document includes a reference to destroying the means of reproducing the information.