By Tony O'Riley-
Private landlords in Barnsley will be fined up to £30,000 , rather than being prosecuted under a new crackdown by the council.
Landlords hit with two or more fines in the space of a year will be added to a Government database of ‘rogue’ operators under new plans to be executed by Barnsley Council. The council’s ruling Cabinet have decided to pursue the new mechanism to avoid the cost of criminal prosecutions .
Penalty fines issued in Barnsley are expected to be significantly higher than fines issued by the criminal courts. Penalties will be used against those who fail to comply with the Housing Act of 2004 and will cover offences including failing to comply with improvement notices, contravening overcrowding notices and failing to comply with the management regulations around houses of multiple occupation. The dramatic move is expected to keep landlord on their toes and offer confidence to tenants who have had to endure the negligence of rogue landlords.
The British government gave councils in the Uk powers to impose up to £30,000 fines instead of prosecution in 2017, and re-iterated the availability of the powers in 2018. Yet, not many councils have exercised their powers.
A source from Barnsley Council told The Eye Of Media.Com:
”These powers have been available to councils all over England for a while, but many have either not felt the need to use them or are surprisingly unaware of the powers. Not many landlords are expected to fall so short of required standards as to require the imposition of such heft fines, but there will be times it needs to be used.
This type of action is expected to be enforced when hazardous conditions pose a serious health and safety threat to tenants in a property. It is also enforceable when facilities are unsatisfactory for the number of people who live there. In some cases, councils can address unsatisfactory facilities where possible, and subsequently impose charges on the landlord. Barnsley Council will be fining landlords who refuse to meet adequate hygiene and safety standards
A freedom of information data gathered by the Residential Landlords Association confirms that over two-thirds of councils across England and Wales did not undertake any prosecutions against private landlords last year. Councils are not using their legal powers in many cases, and are failing tenants in the process. There are over 150 Acts of Parliament containing more than 400 regulations affecting the private rented sector, the RLA is arguing that better enforcement of these laws, backed up by greater funding, is key to driving out the minority of landlords who can make life a misery for tenants and bring the sector into disrepute.
A report to Cabinet members who approved the new policy stated: “Prosecution may be the most appropriate option where an offence is particularly serious or where the offender has previously committed similar offences in the past. Superfast Broadband at an amazing price Superfast Broadband at an amazing price Enjoy Superfast Broadband at an amazing price with Sky Fibre Max for £27 a month.
A civil penalty of up to £30,000 can be imposed where a serious offence has been committed, or where the Council decide that a significant financial penalty (or penalties if there have been several breaches) rather than prosecution, is the most appropriate and effective course of action.
“Civil penalties will not be publicised in the public arena, unlike prosecution. Therefore, it is unlikely that civil penalties will offer a deterrent from peers or members of the public.
“However, they will offer a financial deterrent. Therefore deriding the landlord of any financial gain by not undertaking works required,” said the report. Civil penalties attract the same burden of proof as criminal prosecutions and there is a right of appeal both against the penalty being imposed and the size of the sum involved. Where they are not paid, the council will be able to pursue the landlord through the County Court, using bailiffs to recover the debt.