Today is 1 May 2026, the day the Renters Rights Act 2025 comes into force! So, from today, all the things I have been discussing in my Renters’ Rights Act posts will come into effect.
This is the third in my series of posts on how the Renters Rights Act will change the private rented sector for good. And today I want to talk about Local Authority Enforcement action.
Laws to make landlords behave
Now, the Renters’ Rights Act is not the first act intended to make landlords behave properly towards their tenants and provide a decent home for them.
But up until now, tenants have mostly been intimidated by the prospect of eviction under section 21 to enforce their rights. To ask, for example, their landlords to carry out repairs and keep the property fit for human habitation under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
However, much of the other legislation is down to Local Authorities to enforce. Such as the Housing Health and Safety Rating System standards under the Housing Act 2004 and the HMO Management Regulations.
The problem is, though, that with a few honourable exceptions, few Local Authorities do much enforcement work and some do none at all.
Why Local Authorities don’t enforce
The reasons for this are that:
- They have insufficient funding to pay for staff and staff training (whole teams of enforcement officers were ‘let go’ under Austerity),
- There is no law requiring them to do enforcement work, and also
- I suspect that the difficulties in bringing prosecutions and particularly the low levels of fines awarded, are a big discouragement.
So many Local Authorities have just decided that enforcement against landlords is not something they are able or willing to do. To the enormous frustration of the various tenants’ organisations.
All change today, 1 May 2026
However, all this is going to change from today. This is due to section 107 of the Act, which says
(1) It is the duty of every local housing authority to enforce the landlord legislation in its area.
This means that Local Authorities are under a legal obligation to do enforcement work. If they fail to do their duty, they are likely to face judicial review claims from tenants’ organisations. Not something they will want as it will cost them and use up staff time, which would be better spent doing other work.
So Local Authority enforcement is likely to become much more of a ‘thing’. They know it too, or most of them do, and many are taking on new staff and undergoing training for what will effectively be their new duties.
Good news for good landlords
This is by no means a problem for the many decent landlords. If you manage your property well, keep it in good condition, and comply with the rules, there is no reason for you to face any enforcement action. 100% compliance is 100% protection.
These new rules are not aimed at you. They are aimed at the rogue and criminal landlords who are such a problem.
A problem for their tenants, but also a problem for all of us. For example, a property in poor condition is likely to result in sick tenants. Which will increase costs for the National Health Service, which we all pay for out of our taxes. They also bring down neighbourhoods and result in other social evils.
If Local Authority enforcement action rids us of the plague of rogue landlords then this will make things better for all the good landlords. There will be more of a level playing field (as bad landlords rarely pay for things like property maintenance or safety inspections) and the private rented sector will no longer be tainted by their presence.
Tomorrow I want to talk about the Local Authority fines.
Read the other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |
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