ENFORCEMENT AND INVESTIGATORY POWERS
The Renters Rights Bill enhances enforcement and investigative powers for local authorities to ensure that landlords comply fully with the new standards and protections. This emphasis on enforcement is designed to tackle persistent issues within the private rental sector, such as substandard housing conditions, rent violations, and illegal evictions. Under the Bill, local councils are granted additional resources and authority to actively investigate complaints, conduct unannounced inspections, and monitor compliance with safety regulations, rental pricing rules, and tenancy protections. With these expanded powers, councils can now impose substantial fines and penalties on landlords who fail to meet their obligations. Initial or minor non-compliance will incur a civil penalty of up to £7,000 and serious, persistent or repeat non-compliance a civil penalty of up to £40,000 , with the alternative of a criminal prosecution. Repeated non-compliance or severe breaches could result in harsher consequences, including prohibiting landlords from renting properties altogether. Local authorities will be incentivised to enforce these standards rigorously, with some fines potentially contributing to a fund for further housing enforcement efforts. These changes signify a shift toward proactive enforcement.
RENT REPAYMENT ORDERS
CURRENT: Susan Cope The Bill will also extend the period in which a tenant or local authority can apply for a rent repayment order after the offence from 12 to 24 months, making them easier for tenants and local authorities to pursue and helping prevent them from being timed out. The Bill will extend rent repayment orders to the offences of knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground, breach of a restriction on letting or marketing a property, continued tenancy reform breach after imposition of a financial penalty, continued breach of landlord redress scheme regulations after imposition of a financial penalty for this breach, provision of false information to the PRS Database when purporting to comply with PRS Database regulations and continued failure to register with the PRS Database. The maximum amount of rent a landlord can be ordered to pay will double from 12 to 24 months, increasing the deterrent effect of rent repayment orders and making them more appealing for tenants and local authorities to pursue. A rent repayment order is a mechanism through which, currently, a landlord who has committed an offence can be ordered to repay an amount of rent to the tenant or local authority. If a tenant believes their landlord has committed a listed offence, they can apply to the First- tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order. If the Tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the landlord has committed the offence, it can order the landlord to repay an amount of rent.
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