Purpose

To allow BCC to impose civil penalties as an
alternative to prosecution in respect of banning order offences
under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and to ensure the policy is
consistent with recent case law.

Content

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 amends the
Housing Act 2004 to allow financial penalties, up to a maximum of
£30,000, to be imposed as an alternative to prosecution for
certain relevant housing offences. Bristol City Council’s
(BCC) Civil Penalty Policy can be found here:
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/business/housing-for-business-and-professionals/private-landlords/private-housing-policies-and-performance

Amendments to the existing policy to:
1. Include banning order offences under the Housing and Planning
Act 2016 to the existing list of offences that could attract civil
penalties as an alternative to prosecution.
2. Ensure the policy is compliant with recent case law in two
respects:
i. Costs of investigations can no longer be included as a deterrent
in the calculation of the financial penalty amount and so
references to this in the existing policy are removed.
ii. The Council currently assesses the seriousness of the offence
when calculating the financial penalty amount. The wording has been
improved to make this explicit.