If you are concerned about someone who you think is rough sleeping, you can send an alert to StreetLink.
Enforcement action for poor quality properties
We want to support good landlords who provide decent well-maintained homes. However, a small number of landlords knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation.
If we receive a report that a privately rented property is in a poor condition, we have a legal duty to investigate.
In the first instance, we contact the landlord to give them the chance to resolve the issues.
We would consider enforcement action at a later stage, if the complaint was justified, and the landlord has not addressed them properly.
If there were an imminent risk to health, we would take enforcement action straight away.
How we investigate
You can read our Housing Enforcement Policy for full details of how we investigate a complaint and how we approach enforcement.
In summary, when we receive a report, we will inspect the property under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
We will record any issues we find and classify them as either Category 1 hazards or Category 2 hazards.
If we find Category 1 hazards, we have a legal duty to take action. If we find Category 2 hazards, we can choose what action to take, if any.
Action we will take
For Category 1 hazards, we can:
- serve a Hazard Awareness Notice
- serve an Improvement Notice
- make a Prohibition Order
- make a Demolition Order
- serve an Overcrowding Notice
- carry out remedial work ourselves and then recover the cost from the landlord
Fees for taking enforcement action
If we need to take action, we can imposes a fee on the landlord for this. We calculate the fee depending upon the nature of the case.
For example, the fee for a three-bedroom property, occupied by four people with five hazards would be £614.
Civil Penalty Notices (CPNs)
If landlords do not comply with housing safety standards, we can prosecute them in a criminal court, but this is often costly and time consuming.
Alternatively, we can issue civil financial penalties for certain offences.
Each CPN reflects the severity of the offence, the size of the landlord's portfolio, their experience in letting or management of properties, and their previous record of offending.
You can read our statement of principles, which explains how we set the level of fines.
| Offence | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Charging a prohibited fee and/or breach of the requirement to repay the holding deposit | Up to £5,000 |
| Electrical safety non-compliance | Up to £30,000 |
| Failure to comply with an improvement notice (Section 30) | Up to £30,000 |
| Failure to comply with HMO management regulations (Section 234) | Up to £30,000 |
| Offences in relation to licensing of HMOs (Part 2, Section 72) | Up to £30,000 |
| Offences in relation to licensing of houses (Part 3, Section 95) | Up to £30,000 |
| Offences of contravention of an overcrowding notice (Section 139) | Up to £30,000 |
| Property is let with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F or G without an exemption in place | £2,000 if less than three months, £4,000 if three months or more |
| Registered false or misinformation on the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Exemption Register | £1,000 |
| Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations non-compliance | £1,000 initial fine, increasing to £5,000 for repetition within two years |