The government is giving local councils another £41 million to help cover the costs of ramping up enforcement action against private landlords.

The extra cash is on top of £18 million allocated to councils across England last autumn and comes ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act taking effect on 1^st May.

All 317 local authorities will get a share of the money and will be legally obliged to make sure landlords are complying with the new rules that ban rental bidding wars, tenant discrimination and no-fault evictions.  

It follows expanded investigatory powers that came into force last December for councils to carry out ramped up, more thorough investigations where they suspect landlords are breaking the law. Landlords now face fines of up to £40,000.

Criticisms

The extra cash should go some way to addressing criticisms that councils are not able to investigate housing problems or hand out and collect penalties fairly.

Justice for Tenants has reported that many council officers don’t currently have the time or necessary skills to produce notices; while differing penalties can be handed out for the same offence. Recent FOI requests by the NRLA from 285 councils found that between 2023/24 and 2024/25, 3,695 civil penalties worth £30 million were handed to private landlords, but just £7.5 million was collected.

David Smith, property litigation partner at Spector Constant & Williams (pictured left), believes the additional funding is unlikely to transform enforcement overnight and that no amount of money will resolve the shortage of qualified and experienced environmental health officers. "In practice, compliant landlords are unlikely to notice immediate changes, but those operating outside the rules may face increased scrutiny and higher financial penalties,” says Smith. “We are likely to see an increase in disputes as the new legislation beds in and areas of uncertainty are tested through the courts.”

Positive

Chief executive of Generation Rent, Ben Twomey, (pictured right) says the law will only reach into people’s homes and make a positive difference to their lives if councils are able to take actions against landlords who don’t follow the new rules. “We’re pleased to see the government commit further funding for councils, boosting their ability to make sure renters feel the benefit of the changes from May 1st,” he adds.

The government also announced that up to £50 million will be invested to modernise the civil courts such as digitalising court processes - including preparations for the Renters’ Rights Act. An additional £5 million is being invested into fee uplifts for the housing legal aid sector each year, so all renters can continue to get help to fight evictions.

‍