Government admits it lacks data on landlord enforcement by councils

The government has admitted it does not collect data on how enforcement action against landlords has changed over the past five years.

In a written parliamentary answer, Housing Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage confirmed the government will require councils to submit enforcement data from April next year.

Under the Renters’ Rights Act, councils in England received £41 million to pay for their new enforcement powers.

Strengthening council enforcement powers

Lord Young of Cookham asked the government: “What estimate they have made of the number of local authorities which have increased enforcement action against landlords in the private rented sector in each of the last five years and what assessment they have made of the resources available to local authorities for enforcement”.

In response, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said: “The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) does not currently collect data that would enable an assessment of changes in enforcement activity against landlords at local authority level over the last five years. From April 2027 we intend to require local authorities to provide MHCLG with a suite of data on the private rented sector in their local area.

“We expect that data to include, for example, the number of formal enforcement notices issued; the number of civil penalties issued by category of offence; revenue received from civil penalties; total number of staff in private rented sector enforcement teams; and total spend on private rented sector enforcement.

“Through the Renters’ Rights Act, the government is strengthening local authorities’ enforcement powers and extending and increasing ring-fenced civil penalties to support a ‘polluter pays’ approach to enforcement in the private rented sector.

“In accordance with the new burdens doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities resulting from the Act are fully funded. To that end, the Department is providing £41.12 million to local housing authorities for this financial year to help them undertake their new enforcement responsibilities. This funding is in addition to the £18.2 million provided in 2025/26.

“Our intention is to use fees from the Private Rented Sector Database to provide funding over the long term for local authorities to use on work to improve compliance in the private rented sector”.

Landlords face fine for failing to register on PRS Database

As previously reported by Property118, the government says the PRS Database fee will be “fair and proportionate” and has hinted at combining the registration process for the PRS Database and the Ombudsman, but has not confirmed whether landlords will need to pay separate fees for each.

Councils will also gain the power to take enforcement action against landlords who fail to register on the PRS Database.

If a landlord lets or advertises a property without it first being registered on the database, they can be issued with a civil penalty of up to £7,000 or a £40,000 fine if they provide fraudulent information to the database.