Civil Penalty Policy

1.               In this policy, the term 'landlord' should be read as including letting agents, managing agents, licensors, property owners, directors of corporate landlords and any other person involved in the letting or management of privately rented accommodation.

2.               In this policy, the terms 'House of Multiple Occupation' or 'HMO' are defined by the Housing Act 2004 (opens new window).

3.               Section 126 and Schedule 9 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (opens new window) provide local authorities with the power, through the insertion of section 249A Housing Act 2004 (opens new window), to impose a civil penalty as an alternative to prosecution in respect of the following offences under the Housing Act 2004 (opens new window):

• Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice [section 30]
• Offences in relation to licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) under Part 2 [section 72]
• Offences in relation to the Selective Licensing of 'houses' under Part 3 [section 95]
• Failure to comply with an Overcrowding Notice [section 139]
• Failure to comply with a management regulation in respect of an HMO [section 234]

4.               Regulation 11 of The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (opens new window) provides local authorities with the power to impose a civil penalty in respect of breaches of Regulation 3 of The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (opens new window).

5.               In addition, section 23 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (opens new window) provides that a civil penalty may be imposed in respect of a breach of a Banning Order.

6.               The council has the power to impose a civil penalty of up to a maximum of £30,000 for each separate offence. If multiple offenders have committed the same offence at the same property, a separate civil penalty can, and usually will, be imposed on each offender. In each case, the level of civil penalty imposed on each offender will be in line with this policy.