Landlords in England face a new enforcement risk from today, after the government confirmed that councils can issue financial penalties of up to £7,000 where serious hazards are found in private rented homes and landlords refuse to put them right.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says the new power applies from 22 June 2026 and sits alongside councils’ existing housing enforcement options. Those existing powers include requiring repairs, carrying out emergency works and recovering costs from landlords who fail to act.
For landlords, the practical message is straightforward: serious hazards are now more likely to carry a direct financial consequence as well as repair obligations. The announcement specifically points to problems such as severe damp and mould, freezing conditions, faulty electrics, fire hazards, structural issues and unsafe layouts.
What has changed?
The new penalty is linked to the Renters’ Rights Act and gives local authorities another route when poor conditions are not addressed. According to the government, the fine can be used for 21 types of hazard where the issue is assessed as serious, meaning the highest risk category under the housing health and safety framework.
The government also says the updated Housing Health and Safety Rating System, or HHSRS, comes into force on 23 June. That system is used to assess health and safety risks in housing. The stated aim is to make the framework simpler to use and support faster action on hazards such as damp, fire risks and unsafe electrics.
This does not mean every repair complaint will automatically lead to a £7,000 penalty. The announcement is focused on serious hazards and on landlords who fail to fix poor conditions. However, it does underline the need for landlords to take reported hazards seriously, respond promptly and keep clear records of what was found, what was done and when.
Why this matters for landlords
Property condition has already become a more active enforcement theme. Recent Here4Landlords coverage has looked at housing hazard warning signs landlords should not miss, including issues around heating, hot water, pests and early repair records. The new fine adds another reason to make those checks routine rather than reactive.
Damp and mould remain especially sensitive because they can affect health and can worsen quickly if communication, diagnosis or remedial works drift. Landlords should also be careful not to treat damp reports as a single-cause problem. Ventilation, heating, building defects, leaks, insulation and occupant behaviour can all be relevant, but the landlord still needs a proper inspection trail before reaching conclusions.
Electrical safety, fire precautions and structural concerns need the same disciplined approach. Where a tenant reports a serious problem, a landlord or managing agent should be able to show when the report was received, how it was triaged, who inspected it, what advice was given, what work was ordered and when follow-up took place.
Checks to prioritise now
Landlords may want to review their repair process before a problem becomes an enforcement case. That includes checking that tenants know how to report urgent hazards, that managing agents have clear escalation rules, and that contractors are asked to record findings in a way that can be understood later.
It is also worth checking the evidence kept for core safety work. Gas safety records, electrical reports, smoke and carbon monoxide alarm checks, inspection notes, photographs, contractor invoices and tenant communications should be easy to retrieve. A good record will not remove the need to fix hazards, but it can show that a landlord acted promptly and responsibly.
Landlords with older stock, repeated condensation complaints, known electrical concerns or slow-running repair backlogs should treat this as a prompt to look again at risk. Earlier action is usually cheaper and easier to evidence than trying to reconstruct events after a council has become involved.
Where a property has already generated warnings, notices or tenant complaints, landlords should not ignore the paper trail. Our recent piece on a Rotherham landlord fine showed how poor conditions, licensing issues and ignored safety concerns can combine into a much wider enforcement problem.
Keep it practical
The safest editorial takeaway is not that landlords should panic, but that informal repair handling is becoming riskier. The direction of travel is towards clearer tenant protections, more active council powers and stronger expectations around evidence.
Landlords should read the official guidance when it is published, keep professional advice in mind for complex cases, and make sure any agent managing the property understands the new enforcement landscape. The key point is to identify serious hazards early, respond proportionately and leave a clear record that the issue was taken seriously.
Source: GOV.UK.
