WIREDGOV

A targeted NRLA campaign, highlighting the postcode lottery when it comes to enforcing housing standards, has hit the national headlines - shining a light on huge disparities across the country.

The research project saw our policy team send our Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every council in England, asking for the number of civil penalties they imposed in 2023/24 and 2024/25, as well as. fines collected during the same period.

The picture which emerged from this exercise was stark. On a national level, between 2024/25 and 2023/24, 285 English councils imposed £30 million in civil penalties, yet only collected around a quarter of that amount, equivalent to approximately £7.5m. 

The data also allowed us to drill down into what’s happening across England, region by region, identifying enforcement trends in NW England, Yorkshire & Humber, the East of England, the South West, the Midlands, and London & the South East. 

The subsequent report hit the national headlines, with press coverage in titles including The Times, Evening Standard, BBC News, Property Reporter, Property Industry Eye, Landlord Today. The regional data also made an impact in local media titles such as the Telegraph & Argus, among other outlets. 

The figures are a damning indictment of the effectiveness of local authority enforcement when it comes to tackling rogue and criminal landlords, and bringing them to national attention in this way helps build awareness of the extent of the problem to local communities, giving you a detailed picture of exactly what is happening in your area. A good example would be the north west, where we discovered local councils collected just 16 per cent of the total fines levied on rogue landlords over the time period. This data can then empower you to ask questions of your local authority - and demand change.

It has also helped us draw attention to the issue with key stakeholder grounds, with pro-active work as part of the campaign helping us secure eight meetings with a wide range of organisations keen to discuss the research in more detail and garner support for our key calls.

With local authorities given new statutory power to enforce local housing standards under the Renters' Rights Act we are asking the Government to:

• Champion better enforcement by establishing a new position of Chief Environmental Health Officer, which would have a national remit to its work. 
• Run a full assessment of the resources local authorities currently have, and will need, to enforce the Renters’ Rights Act. 
• Encourage better transparency by obliging councils to publish an annual report on enforcement activity in their area.

Samantha Watkin, senior policy pfficer at the NRLA said: “This evidence clearly shows that there is a lot more work to be done by local authorities if they are to have any credibility when it comes to effectively enforcing regulations. 

“Without properly resourced enforcement teams, councils will simply not be able to fulfil their basic obligation to punish those who let sub-standard private rented accommodation. 

“Aside from being a much-needed wake up call for local authorities, we hope that our work can act as a springboard for further discussion on how enforcement can be handled more effectively.”