Housing Standards - Civil Penalty Policy

The ultimate goal is to prevent any further offending and help ensure that the landlord fully complies with all of their legal responsibilities in future. The level of the penalty should therefore be set at a high enough level such that it is likely to deter the offender from repeating the offence.

Following the initial scoring calculation, consideration will be given whether this element has been suitably met or not. If there is a decision to increase the fine level the reasoning behind the decision will be clearly set out in the Notice of Intent and any Final Notice.

Deter others from committing similar offences

While the fact that someone has received a civil penalty will not be in the public domain, it is possible that other landlords in the local area will become aware through informal channels when someone has received a civil penalty. An important part of deterrence is the realisation that

• (a) the local housing authority is proactive in levying civil penalties where the need to do so exists and
• (b) that the level of civil penalty will be set at a high enough level to both punish the offender and deter repeat offending.

Following the initial scoring calculation consideration will be given whether this element has been suitably met or not. If there is a decision to increase the fine level the reasoning behind the decision will be clearly set out in the Notice of Intent and any Final Notice.