Housing standards

If your landlord is not taking any action to remedy issues in your property, please contact us to arrange an inspection.

An officer will contact you to arrange an appointment to inspect the property. We are obliged to notify the landlord/agent of the inspection and the landlord/agent may wish to be present during the inspection.

During the inspection, the officer will examine all parts of the dwelling to identify any defects present. Following the inspection, the officer will carry out a HHSRS assessment and will determine whether enforcement action is necessary to remedy any defects identified. Local authorities are advised to try to deal with problems informally at first where possible.

There are several types of action we can take to require the landlord to remedy the hazards and these include:

• Hazard awareness notice (HAN) – This is an informal notice advising the person on whom it is served that a hazard exists at the property.
• Improvement notice – A formal notice that gives instructions to rectify any hazards or deficiencies. Failure to comply with the notice could incur a fine up to £5,000.
• Prohibition order – A formal notice served on the property which prohibits use of the building or part of it.
• Emergency remedial action and emergency prohibition order – Formal action taken when a category 1 hazard has been identified which causes an imminent risk to the occupiers.

Persons on whom a formal notice has been served can appeal the notice to the first tier property tribunal.

We may also provide recommendations where formal action is not required.