A group of landlord and housing law experts have criticised a report from Public Interest Lawyers, which claimed that half of councils don’t take court action against bad landlords.
Phil Turtle, a director of Landlord Licensing & Defence, pointed out that many councils significantly use Civil Financial Penalties, an enforcement tool that allows councils to impose fines of up to £30,000 per breach.
Therefore even if cases don’t go to court, many councils are in fact taking action against rogue landlords.
Turtle said: “This report is so far off the mark as to be risible.
“It seems that the authors don’t understand the Housing Act 2004, as amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
“Councils often opt for Civil Financial Penalties over court prosecutions because they can retain the revenue generated from these fines. In fact, the majority of housing enforcements now use this mechanism.
“This practice has led to a significant increase in enforcement actions against landlords, though this fact is completely overlooked in the report.
“Thousands of landlords are fined every week, yet the report suggests that councils are doing almost nothing.”
The original report was published by Public Interest Lawyers, a compensation claims management firm.
Turtle added: “It’s clear that the authors of this report 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.”
