Landlords who fail to ensure their private rented homes meet required standards face massively increased charges from a council.
Bath & North East Somerset council has hiked the fee for serving a formal Improvement Notice from £250 to £400 - a whopping 60 per cent rise.
The fee is charged when the council’s Housing Services team issues an Improvement Notice to address health and safety hazards in houses or flats. These could be property defects, such as absent or defective fire precautions, inadequate heating and insulation, or severe damp and mould.
Councillor Matt McCabe, cabinet member for Built Environment and Sustainable Development, says: “The majority of landlords run their properties responsibly, but the standard of rented homes across B&NES is inconsistent. Our Housing Services Team work hard to ensure that landlords act responsibly and renters have a safe and secure home.
“We follow government guidance on setting the fees at a level that ensures the council recovers reasonable costs including the cost of taking enforcement action if necessary and for any staff time and expenses incurred.”
Other charges that have been increased include the fee for an HMO licence, which has risen from £795 to £995; and certain fees charged to Registered Providers for the marketing and delivery of affordable homes.
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Why doesn't Bath & North East Somerset council just implement the Landlords Licensing sheme for PRS sector?
They've already implemented the HMO Licensing scheme.
HMO licensing (5 or more) is mandatory. Additional licensing isn't. Please don't give them ideas.
You sound like one of them now !! ;)
So in a housing crisis, instead of 'working with LLs', they are simply issuing large penalties, which probably means the LLs will do as little as possible to become compliant & pass on as much as possible in extra rent to the tenants!
Improvement Notice from Preston Council was 650..! Luckily I managed to get that removed. Jarred me a little that I get served a notice for damages caused by the tenants.
Damages caused by tenants? Surely that can't be true? Everyone knows tenants take great care of the property they rent and woukd never cause any damage! It's always the fault of the landlord and caused by their failures to carry out repairs. The implication that a tenant cpuldvin any way be at fault is shameful. Typical money grubbing landlord trying to deflect blame for their exploitation of hard working tenants.
You are right Stephen, I apologise..
I assume the increase is to encourage compliance rather than because of an increase in BANES administration costs. Its a penalty (is this legal?). The standards set by BANES will have to be very clear and not open to miss-interpretation. If standards change, they must be justified and clearly communicated to landlords. Where landlords strive to achieve a standard at their cost to later find it has changed or has been mss interpreted because it has been badly written, any such charge should be contested.
More money for the tenant to pay !!!! this is why rents are so high. !
The problem is that they cannot, or rather will not, see the connection.
If at the check in, the landlord has made sure of everything and carries out all gas and electricity certificates, all necessary repairs and maintenance and find that the tenants irresponsibility causes smoke alarms to be removed (mostly deliberate damage) or sockets get detached by them and they do not let you know and this can be proven, then I believe council should pay the landlord whatever they are trying to charge the LL.
I can pay them fines/charges. If I charge normal market rent. If that's what the Council wants, to stop me trying to look after the tenant at £200pm below market rent. Cause the first time the Council charge me £400 for something that the tenant has broke, then tenant is getting rent increase to market rent and Council can hold their head high knowing they are making tenants worse off again.
Let me correct this for you.
Councils 60% rise on fees for the tenant.
You're welcome.
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