Decision details

Civil penalties for certain housing offences are required as a result of statutory duties which come into force on 1 May 2026 via the Renters Rights Act 2025. We are revising our current policy which was agreed at cabinet on the 16th September 2025, so as to maintain a fair, proportionate, consistent and transparent approach. The revised policy further reduces the risk of legal challenge by clearly defining the Authority’s decision-making framework and by reflecting legislative and guidance changes. It also updates the Authority’s approach to reflect the Secretary of State’s statutory guidance on civil penalties published on 13 November 2025. The policy therefore provides an operational framework for issuing robust and fair financial penalties for both existing housing offences and the new breaches/offences introduced under the 2025 Act, in line with current statutory guidance.

Recommendation 3 of the above report recommended that Cabinet:
‘Authorise the Head of Public Protection, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services, to approve minor variations to the policy in line with any revised statutory guidance’.
It is proposed that the Head of Public Protection approve the revised policy shown at Appendix 1.

It is proposed that the revised civil penalty policy take effect from 1 May 2026 with transitional arrangements in place to ensure legal and procedural continuity. For a limited period of approximately 6 months, both the existing and new policies will operate in tandem, with the applicable policy determined by the date on which the offence was committed. This approach ensures fairness and legal certainty for ongoing cases, avoids retrospective application of policy and allows the Council to conclude enforcement activities initiated under the current framework. Once legacy cases have resolved, the existing policy will be formally withdrawn, leaving a single updated policy framework in place.

The implementation of the Renters Rights Act 2025 requires a co-ordinated and timely revision of our existing civil penalty policy. Without updated policies, there is a risk of inconsistent enforcement, legal challenge to decisions and reduced ability to demonstrate compliance with statutory guidance and best practice. Updating this policy is essential to ensure the Council can meet its statutory obligations under section 107 of the Act as of 1st May 2026.

The main changes are:
1. Aligning with the Renters Rights Act with changes being implemented on 1st May 2026.
2. Changes to reflect the new powers and duties from 1st May 2026.
3. Changes to reflect the enforcement approach for the landlord legislation to which to regulators code does not apply.
4. Increase in the maximum financial penalty for offences under section 249A of the Housing Act 20024 and Section 23 of the Housing and Planning Act 2018 from £30,000 to £40,000 in line with legislation and current statutory guidance and from £5,000 to £7,000 for civil breaches.
5. Reflect the statutory start points for offences and breaches depending of the seriousness

This policy will require further revision when breaches and offences under part 2 and 3 of chapter 2 of the Renters Rights Act 2025 are brought into force (landlord redress scheme and private rented sector database) and section 100 and section 4 part 1 of the Renters Rights Act 2025 (decent homes standard).

None. This is a statutory requirement.

The revised policy is based on a framework developed by the Association of Chief Environmental Health Officers Group (ACEHO). This is an independent body representing Chief Environmental Health Officers providing co-ordinated strategic leadership for local government environmental health practice. It has also been developed with Justice for Tenants (JFT) working with officers from Cheltenham Borough Council. JFT is a non-profit organisation which provides support for tenants and training for local authorities. The policies will be available on our website.