Enforcement and Regulatory Policy for Private Sector Housing
5.0 Regulatory and legislation compliance options
5.1 The tables below outline the enforcement options available to the Private Sector Housing Team. The actions listed are not exhaustive and the Private Sector Housing Team will continue to make decisions on a case by case basis.
General circumstances
| Action | General circumstances |
|---|---|
| No Action | Where formal action may not be necessary, a referral to other sources of advice may be made. |
| Informal Action/Advice | Where circumstance dictates it may be appropriate to deal with problems initially by way of informal action or advice. For example, notifying a responsible person that action is required prior to taking formal action. Where a responsible person agrees to take the action required by the Local Authority. |
| Service of Notice (requiring repairs or specific legal requirements) | Where there is a risk to health, safety and wellbeing of a household or the public. A landlord has a history of non-compliance with statutory notices or has failed to respond to requests to work informally with the Local Authority. Standards are poor with little management awareness of statutory requirements There is a record of criminal convictions for failure to comply with housing related offences in the last 5 years, or a caution has been issued in the last 2 years It is necessary to safeguard and protect health and safety in the future To bring an empty property back into use when informal requests to do so have failed |
| Powers of Entry | To protect the health and safety of any person or to protect the environment without delay To investigate an offence To prevent the obstruction of Officers To carry out a statutory duty or power |
| Powers to Require Documents | Authorised officers have the power to require:
|
Emergency circumstances
| Action | Emergency Circumstances |
|---|---|
| Emergency Remedial Action/Emergency Prohibition Order | There is an imminent risk of serious harm to the health and safety of any occupiers of the premises or any other residential premises |
| Injunctive Action | For use in dangerous or significant public detriment or where offenders are repeatedly found guilty of similar offences |
Contravention circumstances
| Action | Contravention circumstances |
|---|---|
| Works in Default for noncompliance with a notice | To carry out works required by a notice if they have not been complied with within the permitted time The above may be taken in conjunction with, or followed by prosecution, issuing a Penalty Charge, issuing a Civil Penalty Charge or seeking a Rent Repayment Order |
| Revocation of licenses and approvals | Manager identified as not a 'fit and proper person' There is a breach of licensing conditions or poor standards of management |
| Formal (Simple) Caution | For less serious offences where it is deemed appropriate to warn people about their behaviour and legal consequences if they commit further offences |
| Penalty Charge | For failure to comply with a Remedial Notice under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 |
| Civil Penalty Charge | As an alternative to prosecution where an individual or company has:
|
| Rent Repayment Order | Where an individual or company has:
|
| Prosecution | Where an individual or company has:
|
Share this page
