Safety in private rented accommodation

The government have produced a series of booklets which aim to help landlords rent safe housing to their tenants. They have also produced a booklet for tenants that provides information on what their rights are. Please see the document links below.

The council's role

It is a priority of the council to raise housing standards in the rented sector as we have a duty to ensure minimum health and safety standards are achieved across the borough.

As a tenant, you need to write to your landlord or letting agent as soon as you find you have a problem and ask them to repair the faults you have found. If this fails and your landlord does not respond to your complaint, we may be able to help. You can get in touch with us about the problems you are having by using the contact details at the bottom of this page.

If you have to contact us, you can talk to an officer about your concerns.

Normally the officer will write to the landlord/owner, listing the faults the tenant believes to exist in the home. The letter provides the landlord/owner with 42 days to repair the issues provided on the list. At this stage the action is informal only and the owner is not charged for the service of the defects letter.

If, after 42 days, repairs haven't started or there is no major progress, there are a range of enforcement options available, such as:

• Hazard Awareness Notices;
• Improvement Notices;
• Emergency Remedial Action;
• Prohibition Orders;
• Demolition Notices.

There is a charge of £422 for all notices served.