Registering visitor accommodation: technical guidance - Partnerships and unincorporated bodies

Partnerships mean:

• a partnership within the Partnership Act 1890
• a limited partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, or
• a partnership or entity of a similar character formed under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom

For registration, where there is an obligation to meet or an action permitted to be carried out by or in relation to persons carrying on business in partnership, it will be the responsibility of all partners to ensure that they fulfil their requirements. Any action required will need to be carried out by, or in relation to, every partner at that specific time.

Whilst partners are jointly responsible for meeting their obligations, anything that is required or permitted to be done by every partner can be carried out by one partner only. Also, if the partnership's principal place of business is in Scotland, it can be carried out by any person who is authorised by the partnership.

For registration, where there is an obligation to meet, or an action permitted to be carried out by or in relation to persons carrying on business as an unincorporated body, any action required will need to be carried out by, or in relation to, every person who is a managing member of the unincorporated association at that specific time.

However, anything that is required or permitted to be done by every managing member of the body may be done by any of them.

Managing members of an unincorporated association are:

• each member of the unincorporated body holding office as president, chair, treasurer, secretary or any similar office
• if there is no such office, each member holding office as a member of a committee by which the affairs of the body are managed
• if there is no such office or committee, each member of the body

Partners in a partnership and managing members of an unincorporated association are jointly and severally liable for payment of registration related penalties, and any interest, to the WRA. 

This means that where a liability to pay an amount to the WRA as a result of anything done or omitted to be done by a partnership or an unincorporated association arises, the partners or managing members at the time when the thing is done or omitted to be done are each liable for the full amount due until it has been paid.

Where a visitor accommodation provider is two or more persons acting together in a partnership, or as an unincorporated association the following rules apply.

If the membership of the partnership or unincorporated association changes, and the visitor accommodation provider is registered in its business name, then the persons that are members after that change continue to be registered in that business name as long as at least one of them was a member before the change.

Where a person stops being a member of a partnership or unincorporated association, they will be treated as still being a member until:

• the day that notice is provided to the WRA of the change in membership, or
• the day the WRA change the register to reflect the change in membership where notice has not been provided to WRA, and it has exercised its power to amend the register

Treating a person as still being a member is subject to section 36(3) of the Partnership Act 1890 (liability of estate on death or bankruptcy).