7/4/2017.

Local authorities were given a new tool to tackle rogue landlords on 6 April by new measures empowering them to impose civil penalties up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for a range of offences. Any income generated by the fines can be retained to use for enforcement.

Councils’ powers to act against the small minority of private rented sector (PRS) landlords who shirk their obligations to their tenants were further strengthened on 6 April by an order extending rent repayment orders – which are currently used to penalise PRS landlords managing or letting unlicensed properties – to cover

• illegal evictions or harassment of the occupiers of a property
• using violence to secure entry
• the breach of a banning order

‘Civil penalties under the Housing and Planning Act 2016’ links to guidance for local authorities on the civil penalties and on the rent repayments order, which was also introduced under the 2016 Act.

‘Obtaining and using tenancy deposit information’ provides guidance for local authorities in requesting, accessing and using tenancy deposit information held by three Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes, which together hold information on almost 3m properties and 2m PRS landlords.