Decision details

Councillor D. Spear declared a personal interest as a private landlord.

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Environmental Health and Housing (circulated previously) regarding the adoption of a Civil Penalty Notice Policy under the provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

The Head of Environmental Health and Housing highlighted the following:

·         Powers to serve Civil Penalty Notices (CPNs) and apply for Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) under the Housing and Planning Act came into force on the 6th April, 2017.

·         To be able to use these powers, the Council must have its own policies in place and a draft Civil Penalty Notice Policy had been produced as  set out in Appendix A.

·         1 in 5 private rented sector properties had a Category 1 hazard which had an impact on the wellbeing of the occupiers.

·         The maximum level of Civil Penalty to be charged was £30,000. 

·         The Council would only consider a Civil Penalty in a situation where there would be a ‘realistic prospect of a conviction’ if the case was to be prosecuted and would follow sound principles of enforcement.

Councillors Lane and Yabsley declared personal interests as private landlords.

In response to questions, the Head of Environmental Health and Housing advised that the long term use of AirBnB was not considered to be an issue.  The Category 1 hazard was informed by the Energy Performance Categorisation.  The income received from Civil Penalty sanctions would be retained to supplement future regulatory interventions.