Section 249A — Housing Act 2004: Financial penalties for certain housing offences in England

Financial penalties for certain housing offences in England 249A 1 The local housing authority may impose a financial penalty on a person if satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that the person's conduct amounts to a relevant housing offence in respect of premises in England.

2 In this section “ relevant housing offence ” means an offence under—

a section 30 (failure to comply with improvement notice),

b section 72 (licensing of HMOs),

c section 95 (licensing of houses under Part 3),

d section 139(7) (failure to comply with overcrowding notice), or e section 234 (management regulations in respect of HMOs).

3 Only one financial penalty under this section may be imposed on a person in respect of the same conduct.

4 The amount of a financial penalty imposed under this section is to be determined by the local housing authority, but must not be more than £40,000 .

5 The local housing authority may not impose a financial penalty in respect of any conduct amounting to a relevant housing offence if—

a the person has been convicted of the offence in respect of that conduct, or b criminal proceedings for the offence have been instituted against the person in respect of the conduct and the proceedings have not been concluded.

6 Schedule 13A deals with—

a the procedure for imposing financial penalties, b appeals against financial penalties, c enforcement of financial penalties, and d guidance in respect of financial penalties.

7 The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about how local housing authorities are to deal with financial penalties recovered.

8 The Secretary of State may by regulations amend the amount specified in subsection (4) to reflect changes in the value of money.

9 For the purposes of this section a person's conduct includes a failure to act.