The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has been widely discussed and introduces wide-ranging reforms to the private rental sector in England, aiming to re-balance the landlord and tenant relationship by increasing powers for local housing authorities to investigate landlord breaches and impose penalties accordingly.
A key feature of the Act is the changes to enforcement powers given to local housing authorities, including enhanced investigatory powers.
This article outlines the distinction between breaches and offences under the Act and sets out the types of conduct which may give rise to civil penalties.
Breach or Offence?
Non-compliance by a landlord is categorised as either a breach or an offence:
- Breach – non-compliance by landlords where the local housing authority may impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000; and
- Offences – non-compliance by landlords where the local housing authority may either prosecute or impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000.
Breaches attracting up to £7,000
These include improper handling of tenancies and failures to meet procedural requirements. Examples include attempting to end a tenancy outside the correct legal process, failing to provide written tenancy terms within 28 days, and engaging in discriminatory letting practices.
Offences attracting up to £40,000
These involve serious or repeated non-compliance, particularly around eviction, licensing, and property safety. Examples include unlawful eviction or harassment, operating an unlicensed HMO, and failing to comply with safety obligations such as gas or electrical requirements.
There are additional breaches and offences not covered within this article.
Level of Civil Penalty
The government guidance has clarified that local housing authorities will need to develop their own policies which will determine the level of penalty to impose on landlords. In deciding the appropriate penalty to apply, local housing authorities must consider factors including:
- The severity/seriousness of the offence;
- The landlord’s culpability and track record;
- The harm caused; and
- The need to punish the landlord.
To support consistency, the government guidance includes a table outlining the starting point for local authorities to refer to based on seriousness of breach. This table can be found on the government website and is a useful guide to understand the severity of the breaches/offences.
Aggravating and mitigating factors should then be applied, which should adjust the penalty either upwards or downwards. The local housing authorities should make financial considerations, ensuring that the penalty decided meets the objectives of punishment, deterrence and removal of financial benefit. Local housing authorities should ensure that other penalties issued against the same offender reaches an aggregate amount which is just and fair.
How we can help
At Gamlins Law, our litigation department are closely monitoring the changes being introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. If you are a landlord and are concerned about how the new legislation may affect you, our experienced team would be pleased to provide you with assistance.
Should you require our assistance, please call us on 01745 343 500.
