Issue - decisions

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 Once legacy cases have resolved, the existing policy will be formally withdrawn, leaving a single updated policy framework in place.