Nottingham City Council enforces civil penalties

Council using new powers to issue civil penalties against ‘rogue landlords’

Nottingham City council has announced that it will implement the use of civil penalty fines. This is part of its stricter line on the private rental market, which also includes plans to introduce mandatory landlord licensing in parts of the city. The civil penalties are part of the changes introduced by the Government in its Housing and Planning Act 2016.

It enables council to issue Civil Penalty notices up to a maximum fine of £30,000.

The penalties mean that the council does not require a court hearing to pursue landlords who have knowingly provided substandard or unsafe accommodation to their tenants. Nottingham City Council foresee using the new powers as an alternative to prosecution for a range of offences by unscrupulous landlords. Such as:

• Not complying with housing improvement or overcrowding notices
• Not having the correct licence for a property
• Not complying with a licencing condition
• Failure to comply with regulations controlling Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO)

Nothing to fear

As part of its press release, the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community and Customer Services, Councillor Toby Neal, the City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community and Customer Services, said:

“Good landlords and letting agents have nothing to fear from these changes to the law. The City Council will now be able to tackle poor housing conditions in private rented housing more easily. The Civil Penalties process has a straight forward set of steps that allow landlords to make the required changes before fines are issued.”

Rent Repayment Orders

As part of the announcement, the council declared its intention to use Rent Repayment Orders (RPOs) – also part of last years Housing and Planning Act.

RPOs mean that the council will be able to claim back up to 12 months’ rent from landlords who have committed a number of offences. These include:

• Illegally evicting or harassing tenants
• Using violence to secure entry
• Failure to comply with a housing improvement notice or prohibition order

Purple Frog condemns such practices and would never work with a landlord who used such tactics.

We work with reputable landlords to make sure that students looking for accommodation in the city can get a fair deal. If you are a landlord with student property to rent in Nottingham, speak to one of our local experts about how we can help you keep up-to-date with best practice in the private rental market and ensure your student tenants are happy, secure and safe in your properties.

Further information

• • • https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-penalties-under-the-housing-and-planning-act-2016
    • http://committee.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/documents/s60961/Nottingham%20Civil%20Penalties%20Enforcement%20Guidance.pdf
    • https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rent-repayment-orders-under-the-housing-and-planning-act-2016