Purpose

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing outlining the updated enforcement policies that will be implemented to deal with the new duties and regime imposed by the Renters Rights Act 2025 from May 1st 2026

Decision

(i)  To approve the updated Private Rented Sector Enforcement Policy, and Civil Penalty Policy, and, to take effect from 1 May 2026.

(ii)  To approve transitional arrangements allowing the existing policies to continue to apply to offences committed prior to 1 May 2026 until those cases are concluded.

(iii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Director for Resident Services to make minor, non-material amendments to the policies to ensure continued compliance with statutory guidance and best practice.

Reasons for the decision

1.  The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 places a statutory duty on local housing authorities to enforce defined landlord legislation, fundamentally altering the balance between informal action and formal enforcement.

2.  Existing Council policies do not reflect the expanded offence framework, statutory penalty matrices, or evidential requirements introduced by the Act, creating risk of inconsistency and legal challenge.

3.  Adoption of updated policies aligned with nationally recognised model frameworks supports consistency, transparency and defensible decision-making, reducing the risk of a perceived “postcode lottery” for landlords.

Alternative options considered

Retain existing policies with minor amendments only.

This option was rejected as it would fail to adequately reflect the statutory duty to enforce landlord legislation under section 107 of the Renters’ Rights Act, retain inappropriate reliance on the Regulators’ Code, and increase the likelihood of challenge to enforcement decisions and penalty setting.