Housing enforcement guidance

Civil penalties

Under section 126 and schedule 9 the Housing and Planning Act 2016 local housing authorities can impose a civil penalty as an alternative to prosecution for the following offences:

  • failure to comply with an improvement notice (section 30)
  • offences in relation to licensing of houses in multiple occupation (section 72)
  • offences in relation to licensing of houses under part 3 of the act (section 95)
  • offences of contravention of an overcrowding notice (section 139)
  • failure to comply with management regulations in respect of houses in multiple occupation (section 234).

A civil penalty can also be imposed for breaches of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020.

Determining the civil penalty amount

The local housing authority should determine the amount of civil penalty which can be up to a maximum of £30,000. Civil penalties under the Housing and Planning Act 2017 - guidance for local authorities identifies the following matters which should be considered:

  • severity of the offence
  • culpability and track record of the offender
  • punishment of the offender – a civil penalty should not be seen as a lesser option than prosecution
  • the harm caused to the tenant
  • punishment of the offender
  • deterring the offender from repeating the offence
  • removing any financial benefit the offender may have obtained as a result of committing the offence.

The local housing authority needs to be able to demonstrate the reasoning behind a charge applied. The charging system is set out in in Appendix 3.

Burden of proof

A civil penalty can only be imposed where a local housing authority can satisfy itself that if the case were to be prosecuted in the Magistrates Court, there would be a realistic prospect of conviction. For this the authority needs to be able to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that the offence has been committed.

In determining whether to impose a civil penalty officers should refer to our enforcement policy and complete the decision to prosecute form in Appendix 4 to test that evidence passes both the evidential stage and the public interest stage.

Civil penalty procedure

Civil penalties under the Housing and Planning Act - guidance for local authorities sets out the procedure to be followed when imposing a civil penalty.