Enforcement Powers
The Council has powers under several Acts of Parliament to take action to secure improvements to homes which pose a health and safety risk to the occupants or members of the public.
The main powers are contained within the Housing Act 2004 and relate to hazards identified under the 
Housing Health and Safety Rating System [18kb]. The enforcement options include:
- serving an improvement notice requiring remedial works to be undertaken
- making a prohibition order, which prevents the whole or part of the property from being used
- arranging and carrying out works themselves, where there is an imminent risk of serious harm
- serving an Overcrowding Notice which will impose a limit on the number of permitted occupants
- serving a hazard awareness notice, which merely advises that a hazard exists, but does not require any works to be carried out
- demolition order
- prosecution
Enforcement Decisions
The Council has a Housing Enforcement Policy [96kb] which sets out the how the Council makes enforcement decisions and carries out enforcement actions. The Council will normally seek to resolve the matter informally first, before taking formal action.
Charges for Enforcement Action
A charge will be made for the cost of administrative and other expenses involved in serving Improvement Notices and Prohibition Orders. The charge will be waived where the notice is complied with within the timescale set out in the notice.
