NRLA launches landlord survey on regulatory enforcement

The NRLA is asking landlords to share their experiences of dealing with enforcement activity around property standards by local authorities. This is part of our work assessing whether the law is applied consistently and fairly across the country.

Local authorities have a duty to address any hazardous properties. They can do this either informally, or through various forms of formal enforcement such as civil penalties, criminal prosecutions or prohibiting access to the property.

We would like to speak to landlords with experience in both informal and formal enforcement around property conditions. We would be particularly interested in finding out whether:

• The instructions from the council were clear and easy to understand;
• Sufficient time was given to fix any issues;
• Whether or not informal enforcement was used as the first resort; and
• There were any areas that could be improved.

To do this, we want to collect testimonies from landlords who have had experience concerning enforcement activity (both informal and formal) based on property conditions. We are especially interested in hearing from landlords in the Greater Manchester area.

Property condition generally covers:

• The correct and requirement documents and certificates for the property i.e., valid gas safety certificates, valid energy performance certificates
• That the property is fit for human habitation, not in disrepair and compliant with fire safety legislation
• The property is safe from legionella and smoke alarms are fitted on every floor used as a living space and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a solid burning appliance

We have also undertaken research focused on local authority enforcement on their usage of civil penalties, a Welsh enforcement index focused on how enforcement powers are being deployed in the PRS and insight into alternatives for discretionary licensing which can be found on our website here.

If you are a landlord who has had direct experience of enforcement activity concerning property conditions and would like to share your story, please get in touch at [email protected].