Private Housing Enforcement Policy

The council's Private Housing Enforcement Policy sets out the enforcement framework in which the Private Housing Team operate to achieve the aims of the Community Strategy.

The Private Housing Team is part of the council's Environmental Health service.

Policy Aims

The objectives of the service are to:

• Improve the standards of homes in the private sector

• assess local housing conditions

• reduce the number of properties with serious risks to health and safety

• reduce the number of vulnerable households living in non-decent homes

• improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes and to help reduce fuel poverty

• improve standards in private rented accommodation

• improve the standards in HMOs (houses in multiple occupation)

• work closely with private landlords towards improving conditions and the standard of management of private rented housing

• provide an excellent service that is accessible to anyone living in private housing who may have poor living conditions

Good Practice

The council has signed up to the Government’s 1998 Enforcement Concordat Principles of Good Enforcement. The Concordat sets out what business and others being regulated can expect from enforcement officers.

In exercising their duties and other functions, officers will seek to do so in a firm but fair, open and consistent and helpful way.

This policy deals with the practical application of enforcement procedures that will be used to achieve statutory housing and environmental standards. It sets out what owners, landlords, their agents and tenants of private sector properties can expect from officers.

Enforcement, in the context of this policy is not limited to formal enforcement action such as prosecution, but includes for example, the inspection of premises for the purpose of checking compliance with legislation and the provision of advice.

The Private Housing Enforcement Policy came into effect following a consultation in 2006 - see Related Pages for more information. You can download the policy in PDF format below.