A large London council has issued new guidance to its housing enforcement teams that will increase the maximum fines both landlords and letting agencies pay if they are found to be in breach of housing law.

Haringey Council, which is one of the capital’s most energetic enforcers of property licensing, housing quality, overcrowding and HMO management legislation and regulations, has raised the ‘minimum’ fines those operating rental properties can expect.

The council, like many across the UK, uses Civil Penalty Notices (CPNs) to fine landlords and letting agencies, rather than bearing the expense of taking them to court.

While the maximum fine is £30,000, CPNs are usually much lower but Haringey now wants its officers to start fines at higher levels. Its main measure of fine severity depends on how serious the offence has been, with a new starting point of £2,500 for ‘mild’ rising to £27,500 for ‘serious’.

Track record

These new penalty level starting points are also judged using other variables including the track record of the offender, harm to the tenant, deterrence effect on the individual and wider community of landlords and agents, and also whether the fine is equal to the ‘benefit’ gained from ignoring the rules.

Haringey housing officers will also have the freedom to increase the penalties set out above by a further £5,000 if ‘aggravating factors’ are identified – such as perhaps attempts at illegal eviction during a tenancy – but also decrease the fine if ‘mitigating factors’ are found. But the council says in both cases this will be ‘rare’.

The council says one of the key thrusts of its new guidance is to “foster an environment where it becomes clear that operating unlawfully as a landlord is far less profitable than adhering to regulations. The updated penalty structure sets higher starting fines according to how serious the offence is.

Fairness

For example, failing to comply with an Improvement Notice could cost landlords £22,500, while not licensing a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) starts at £17,500. Haringey says every case will be reviewed individually to ensure fairness.

“This policy change demonstrates our commitment to holding landlords accountable and ensuring all residents in Haringey have access to safe, high-quality housing,” says Councillor Sarah Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning and Deputy Leader.

“By increasing penalties and streamlining our enforcement strategy, we are sending a strong message – breaking the law will have serious consequences and we will simply not tolerate it.

“We remain committed to supporting our good landlords whilst also cracking down on illegal landlord practices and raising housing standards across the borough.”

The fines cover those who ignore improvement notices, selective licensing, HMO licensing, overcrowding rules and HMO management.

Read the revised CPN policy.