A council has imposed fines on five landlords for licensing breaches.

Doncaster’s Selective Licensing scheme was introduced – so the council claims – to help tackle high levels of anti-social behaviour and the resulting impact this was having on residents. 

The recent fines ranged from £500 to £2,940 and were issued to landlords failing to provide compliance documents when requested by the council.

The request to provide adequate paperwork, including Energy Performance Certificates and Gas Safety certificates, is a mandatory requirement of landlords with properties in the area covered by the scheme, which has been in place for four years.

A council spokesperson says: “All tenants renting from private landlords should have an expectation that the property is safe and fit to live in – and all landlords should be fully aware of their legal obligations before they rent out any property. 

“Where standards in rented properties fall short, the council will not hesitate to enforce against those who fail in their legal duty to provide homes of a decent standard. 

“Landlords also have a responsibility to ensure that their tenants behave reasonably and are considerate of their neighbours. If landlords rent out their properties to tenants who cause a nuisance or inflict misery on their neighbours, the council can and will use the selective licensing scheme to take action against the landlord as well as the anti-social tenants.  

“We want to work with the majority of decent landlords, but we will not shy away from dealing with the small irresponsible minority.”

Including these fines, Doncaster council’s enforcement team has issued a total of 48 financial penalties to landlords for contraventions of housing law since adopting the powers in 2018.