3.1 Co-ordinated working - Often a single housing matter may overlap the enforcement responsibilities of several services and agencies such as Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Devon and Cornwall Police, Home Office or the Environmental Protection functions of the Council. Partnership working is at the core of what we do and we will take a comprehensive approach to enforcement by:
3.2 Powers of entry - Entry to a property is usually required to enable us to carry out our statutory functions.
Sections 239-241 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA2004) set out powers of entry associated with investigating the condition and/or management/use of a property.
When organising a visit to assess conditions using the Housing Health and Safety Rating Scheme (HHSRS) officers’ will normally make an appointment to visit in the first instance and will give at least 24 hours’ notice to both the occupants and owners of our intention to enter properties to inspect them. If landlords wish to attend the inspection they are obliged to make their own arrangements with the tenant.
Powers of entry will allow an officer, at any reasonable time, to enter a property to carry out an inspection and gather evidence, take other people with them, take appropriate equipment or materials and take any measurements, photographs, recordings and samples as necessary.
In some cases, powers of entry will be used to carry out works.
We will exercise our statutory powers to gain entry without giving prior notice to investigate suspected non-compliance with housing related law or to carry out a statutory duty where it is necessary to do so.
Reasons for the use of these powers may include:
When undertaking enforcement activity associated with Illegal eviction or harassment it may not be
necessary or appropriate to inform the property owner of an intention to enter.
We may apply to the Magistrates Court/Justice of the Peace for a Warrant to Enter Premises if;
Before applying for a warrant we will consider all the circumstances of the case and ensure that obtaining a warrant is a proportionate and reasonable action.
A warrant under this section includes the power to enter by force, if necessary.
Any person who, without reasonable excuse, obstructs an authorised officer from carrying out their
functions under Parts 1-4 of HA2004 (includes entering a premises, collating evidence etc.) commits a
criminal offence. Where an officer is obstructed we will consider undertaking a prosecution. Where
officers are assaulted the council will seek prosecution of any offenders.
Authorised officers have the power to require:
Officers will routinely use these powers and it is an offence not to produce the required information as
requested or to provide false or misleading information. Where requested information is not provided (or is false or misleading) we will consider taking the relevant formal action such as issuing a financial penalty or undertaking a prosecution.
For specific housing purposes the Authority also has the power to:
The Council has a duty to review local housing conditions to identify any action that may be required.
We will seek to identify HMOs that require a mandatory licence, are poorly converted or poorly managed and properties where category 1 hazards exist. We will also proactively target empty privately owned properties to encourage owners to bring them back into use, and use enforcement powers where appropriate to achieve this.
We will target those landlords who deliberately or persistently break the law. Where poor conditions are identified in a privately rented property, we will seek to identify and inspect other properties owned or managed by the same individual or company.
Post Grenfell the requirements for local housing authorities to intervene in the fire safety of private
residential blocks is still an area of developing government policy. Our actions in this regard will reflect
any forthcoming government policy.
We may inspect property to contribute to an area approach such as consideration as to whether to support a discretionary HMO licensing scheme, a collaborative action with the fire service in a high risk area or to fulfil a Housing Strategy objective.
The council has a duty to react to intelligence regarding local housing conditions and to identify any action that may be required.
We will respond in accordance with the HA2004 and associated regulations and guidance to enquiries by occupiers of rented property considered to be hazardous, partner agencies (internal and external) and elected members who have witnessed hazardous accommodation.
We will inspect property in response to a request such as an Immigration enquiry or where a licensing application has been made and we are obliged to consider suitability.
We will consider other enquiries on a case by case basis. This might be where the reporting person has not seen the condition of the property or perceives an impact on themselves rather than the occupier. In such cases it is not always appropriate to require an inspection and the issue may be dealt with more effectively by other methods.
Tenants of Registered Providers (Housing Associations) have standard procedures to follow if their landlord does not carry out repairs in a satisfactory manner, including a complaints procedure and a final right of appeal to the Housing Ombudsman Service. Appendix 1 gives some further detail and useful links to facilitate appropriate action.
We will offer advice to the tenant in the first instance and seek to intervene where we determine that it is necessary and appropriate for us to do so. We will consider the HHSRS Enforcement Guidance in order to reach this determination.
There are specific requirements which must be met by lettings and management agents such as the requirement to belong to a redress scheme, banning of fees etc. Some of these requirements may be enforced by the Housing Standards team or by the appropriate Trading Standards team. Torbay Council will liaise with the Trading Standards team to help them perform their duties. We will also take direct action where we are authorised to do so and such action is justified.