Housing enforcement experts slam ‘misleading’ prosecutions report

A leading firm of landlord and housing law experts has slammed a recent report suggesting councils in England and Wales are failing to adequately address landlord misconduct as ‘misleading and inaccurate’.

The report, published by Public Interest Lawyers, claimed nearly half a million complaints were made about landlord misconduct in five years, yet councils took fewer than 1,300 landlords to court.

The research also claimed that more than 100 councils admitted to not prosecuting a single landlord during this period.

And Public Interest Lawyers’ data shows that the average council now prosecutes just one landlord per year.

Use of Civil Financial Penalties

Phil Turtle, a director of Landlord Licensing & Defence, criticised the report for its failure to account for the significant use of Civil Financial Penalties.

This is a powerful enforcement tool allowing councils to impose fines of up to £30,000 per breach.

Mr Turtle said: “This report is so far off the mark as to be risible.

“It seems the authors don’t understand the Housing Act 2004, as amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016.”

When a council prosecutes a landlord

He explains that when a council prosecutes a landlord, the fine goes to the Treasury – when the authorities use a civil penalty, they keep the money.

This practice has led to a significant increase in enforcement actions against landlords, Mr Turtle says – a fact overlooked by the report.

He added: “Thousands of landlords are fined every week, yet the report suggests councils are doing almost nothing.

“It’s clear the authors have a skewed view of the situation.

“While councils may not be perfect, this report is a gross misrepresentation of the reality of landlord enforcement in England and Wales.”