Council claims landlord civil penalties are not effective

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Council claims landlord civil penalties are not effective

A council has claimed civil penalties are not enough to tackle ‘rogue’ landlords as it issues its first banning order.

Bradford council says financial penalties “are not always effective in preventing further breaches” and the landlord banning order is for someone who is considered a serial offender due to a long history of convictions.

Penalty notices are difficult and time-consuming

According to a report by Bradford council compiled by the Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee, more than £2 million in civil penalties have been issued to landlords who breached housing standards.

However, the council says only £400,000 of that amount has been collected, and they say this shows that financial penalties alone are not effective enforcement.

The report says: “Civil penalty notices (CPN) are difficult and time-consuming to recover with cases in abeyance due to appeals for some time and can also result in written off debt, of the total CPNs issued, £90,000 has had to be written off.

“Whilst they provide an alternative to prosecution, they are not seen as always being effective in preventing further breaches, and so prosecution may be a more effective tool in some cases.”

Bradford Council has now decided to pursue a landlord banning order against an owner with a large portfolio of HMOs.

The council says the landlord has already been issued £40,000 in civil financial penalties, and further prosecution action is being prepared.

Landlords respond positively to proactive inspections

The report also claims proactive inspections by the council on rented properties in the area have been well received by landlords.

The report says: “Agents and landlords on the whole respond positively to proactive inspections (this is being demonstrated in Great Horton). All are advised beforehand of the reasons for the approach and what is expected of them.

“There is usually no objection to the inspections and more co-operation than obstruction. It is made clear to agents/landlords why the inspections are taking place and as a result the relationship between them and the tenant is not jeopardised. Officers are not aware of any threats of retaliatory eviction.”

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