Government claims guidance aims to make landlord fines clearer

The government has claimed guidance on financial penalties for landlords is “more transparent”.

The government announced will face on-the-spot fines of £7,000 for severe damp and mould, as well as for broken-down boilers during freezing temperatures.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook claims the revised Housing Health and Safety System (HHSRS) will make it easier for councils to crack down on landlords who fail to tackle serious hazards.

£7,000 financial penalty

In a written parliamentary question, Conservative MP Andrew Snowden asked: “What steps is the government taking to ensure consistency between local authorities in the application of financial penalties for landlords found to have serious hazards in their rented properties”.

In response, Mr Pennycook said: “A new financial penalty of up to £7,000 for a failure to take reasonably practicable steps to remove a category 1 hazard came into force on 22 June.

“Statutory guidance on new financial penalties is included within revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System Enforcement Guidance published on 23 June. This statutory guidance seeks to provide a clearer, more transparent and more consistent framework for setting civil penalties across England.”

Councils only collecting a fraction of fines

As previously reported by Property118, England’s councils are collecting only a fraction of fines issued for landlord offences, even as local authority inspection numbers grow.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says councils are carrying out more checks under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System.

However, the collection of financial penalties continues to lag.

The NRLA’s figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show inspections rising from 85,326 across 2021/22 and 2022/23 to 91,620 in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

While that’s a modest 7% increase, previously published data indicates councils are collecting only around a quarter of fines issued to landlords for housing offences.