A range of provisions which allow civil penalties to be levied against residential landlords who commit offences under the Housing Act 2004 came into effect last month.
Local authorities are now empowered to levy fines of up to £30,000 against landlords for offences including failing to comply with an improvement notice, breaches of HMO licensing, HMO management, selective licensing and overcrowding rules.
Landlords will receive 28 days’ notice to make representations before the local authority makes a decision on a penalty. The landlord will then have a further 28 days in which to appeal to the first tier tribunal or to pay.
Beyond this, Rent Repayment Orders have been extended and can now apply to matters including illegal eviction, breaches of banning orders and the failure to comply with a statutory notice.
Moreover, banning orders are set to be introduced from October 2017, which will see landlords potentially barred from letting or managing a property indefinitely.
