Lettings The Good The Bad The Deadly by Heather Hilder on September 24, 2024 Lettings The Good The Bad The Deadly The Bad & The Deadly Previously, we examined the ‘good’ legislation in the sector, designed to improve tenants’ standards and reduce the uncertainty of eviction and the overpaying of rents. But what powers are there to protect tenants and landlords from the bad and deadly behaviours of both parties? The Bad & The Deadly Various additional changes proposed in the Renters’ Rights Bill aim to protect against bad and deadly behaviour and allow for greater enforcement. A Private Rented Sector Database will be created among these. This will help provide clearer information for all parties. However, with landlords required to register on the database to use certain possession grounds, it will also support local councils by enabling them to target enforcement activity where it is needed. This will help reduce time wasted trying to determine who owns poor-quality properties in their area. Civil penalties The local council will be able to issue a civil penalty of up to £7,000 if landlords are letting or advertising a property that hasn’t been registered on the database. This can increase to up to £40,000 or a criminal prosecution for landlords who continually fail to provide the information or who provide fake information. Legal expectations will also be established around timeframes for making homes, containing serious hazards, safe. Civil penalties of up to £7,000 will be levied for breaches. It will also be made illegal to discriminate against tenants who receive benefits or have children. Similarly, for asking or accepting rents above the advertised rate. Local authority enforcement will also be expanded with additional civil penalties. These mostly range from up to £7,000 for a first breach and up to £40,000 for continued non-compliance – as well as the option of criminal prosecutions and unlimited fines, improved investigatory powers and a new requirement to report on enforcement activity. Fines for non-compliance of deposit protection Tenants have a right for protection of their deposit as a part of a government-approved deposit protection scheme. Failure to do so can mean your tenant could take you to court – with landlords potentially forced to pay tenants between one and three times the value of the deposit as a consequence. Fines for deadly behaviours There is also a range of fines for behaviours that could prove deadly for tenants. Landlords must check their gas appliances annually with a gas safety check undertaken by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Failure to do so could lead to a £6,000 fine and imprisonment. Similarly, landlords must keep up to date with their compliance of Electrical Safety Standards. They must provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) on their property or face fines of up to £30,000. Landlords also face fines up to £5,000 for failing to provide or check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in a property. Other health and safety issues, such as failing to deal with health and safety issues and serious hazards in your property could lead to tenants asking the local authority to carry out an inspection after which it can issue a civil penalty of up to £30,000. Of course, it’s not just the financial impact that can hurt. Bad and deadly behaviours also threaten reputations. Behaviours such as smoking, drug use or anti-social actions could lead to tenants’ evictions. This may cause challenges in finding somewhere new to live. High-risk behaviours – such as failing to address safety issues – can also be life-threatening. This will quickly damage landlord reputations and therefore their business.
