Purpose

To seek approval to revise the existing Civil Penalties and Rent Repayment Order Policy

Decision

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a)                approves the proposed revised Civil Penalties and Rent    Repayment Order Policy as set out in Appendix A of report SHAP/101.

b)                delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, to make minor amendments to this policy as further changes to legislation and statutory guidance are introduced or following a subsequent review. 

(Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation).

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Government has issued statutory guidance entitled “Civil Penalties under the Renters Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation”. The existing Civil Penalties and Rent Repayment Order Policy must therefore be updated in line with the Guidance.

There are two key changes between the current and revised policies. The first is the addition of the offences and breaches introduced under the Renters Rights Act 2025, along with the statutory maximum fine increasing to £40,000 for specified offences and breaches.

The second is that the method used to determine the fine has been tabulated for ease of use, clearly displaying starting points, statutory maximums, and upward and downward adjustments based on the landlord type.

Revised policies are being adopted by other local authorities including Mid Sussex District Council and Horsham District Council in very similar terms and therefore the adoption of this policy by Crawley Borough Council continues to provide consistency across the north of the county in the run up to Local Government Reorganisation.