Councils in England have a new power to impose an instant £7,000 fine should a landlord refuse to deal with serious hazards in their rented homes, the government has announced.
The power comes under the Renters’ Rights Act and news of the on-the-spot fines comes with a revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System covering 21 hazards so councils can easily identify serious risks.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has questioned whether councils have the resources to enforce the new power.
Councils urged to use new power
Housing Secretary Steve Reed has written to councils across England urging them to use their available powers to tackle poor housing conditions.
He said: "Renters deserve a safe, secure place to call home and our landmark Renters' Rights Act gives councils more options to take speedy action against rogue landlords.
"Alongside the new fines, this government is updating the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) for the first time in 20 years.
"This important system is used to assess health and safety in all types of housing, making it simpler to identify dangerous risks and take action."
List of serious hazards
The English Housing Survey reveals that around one in 10 PRS homes are thought to have at least one serious hazard, which range from severe damp and mould to freezing temperatures and faulty electrics.
Councils can already order landlords to carry out repairs by a deadline, prosecute them, or can complete emergency work and recover the cost from the landlord.
However, the NRLA has poured cold water on the new fines, saying increasing penalties would achieve little if councils failed to collect them.
Its Freedom of Information research found that only a quarter of fines issued to private landlords between 2023 and 2025 were collected by councils.
The NRLA's chief executive, Ben Beadle, said: "Good landlords, who meet standards and undertake repairs swiftly, will be unaffected by these tough penalties.
"But those criminal landlords, who undermine the reputation of all those who do the right thing, will feel the full force of the law."
Tenant activists welcome fines
Generation Rent welcomed the additional council powers but said local authorities would need to identify and pursue landlords who failed to address unsafe conditions.
Ben Twomey, its chief executive, said: "The council being given the power to fine landlords up to £7,000 if they ignore repairs is an essential step towards raising the quality of rented homes.
"For renters to feel the benefit, though, councils must seek out and take action against those landlords who ignore unsafe conditions and profit from misery."
Clara Collingwood, a director at the Renters' Reform Coalition, said: "For far too long hundreds of thousands of renters have been living in substandard homes that undermine our health and cause serious harm to children and vulnerable adults.
"It's great that authorities have new powers to tackle this, and they must start using them immediately to crack down on landlords who profit from unhealthy homes."
New fines for landlords
Simon Thompson, the managing director of Accommodation for Students, said: "Hearing that councils have gained a new power to issue instant £7,000 penalties for not addressing serious housing hazards such as damp, mould, faulty electrics or broken boilers will come as a surprise to many landlords.
"But the Renters' Rights Act has brought lots of other surprises, and good landlords who provide safe, quality homes shouldn't have anything to worry about."
He added: "The updated Housing Health and Safety Rating System also identifies 21 distinct hazards triggering regulatory action.
"Like the NRLA says, we need to see how these powers will be used and whether local authorities can, and will, collect those fines."
