RESOLVED: To
1. Note the new enforcement powers available to the Private Sector Housing Enforcement and Trading Standards teams including the various responsibilities, duties and commencement dates.
2. Adopt the proposed policy ‘Determining the Penalty and Banding the Offence’; attached as Appendix 1. This policy covers the process to both:
· Determine the Penalty - determine what is the most appropriate sanction to be taken against an offending landlord; and
· Banding the Offence - where the sanction is a Financial Penalty, the level of penalty.
3. Resolve for the proposed policy ‘Determining the Penalty and Banding the Offence’ to supersede the existing policy “Determining the Penalty” which was approved on the 3rd May 2017 and which the Council commenced using on the 8th May 2017.
4. Adopt the proposed revised Statement of Principles attached at Appendix 3 of the report which has been produced as required under regulation 13 of The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (England) Regulations 2015 and agree to the publication of the Statement of Principles.
5. Resolve for the proposed Statement of Principles attached at Appendix 3 of the report to supersede the existing Statement of Principles, attached as Appendix 2 of the report, which was approved on the 3rd May 2017 and which the Council commenced using on the 8th May 2017”.
6. Agree to the proposed policy ‘Determining the Penalty and Banding the Offence’ and proposed revised Statement of Principles to commence on the 1st February 2021 in respect of powers created under the various enactments.
7. Approve the revised proposed houses in multiple occupation licensing [“HMO”] fee payment arrangement that requires the applicant to make the same total payment under the scheme if the licence is successfully granted, but in two stages, Part A on application and Part B if the License is granted, as detailed in a fee structure section 18 of the report and documented in Appendix 4 (current fees) and Appendix 5 (proposed fees) of the report.
8. Authorise the Council to include new or revised houses in multiple occupation licence conditions as detailed in section 17 of the report and documented in Appendix 6 (current conditions) and Appendix 7 (proposed conditions) of the report covering:
· the safety of the electrical installation requirements, new condition 1.2.1;
· the revision of conditions 1.1, 1.2.2 and 1.2.3 to give a deadline of 14 days in which a licence holder must return a declaration to the Council on request;
· the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements, new condition numbers 1.3.1 and 1.3.2;
· the control of anti-social behaviour, reworded condition 1.5 with new sections 1.5.2 and 1.5.3;
· the storage and disposal of household waste requirement, new condition 1.6.1, 1.6.2, and 1.6.3; and
· the introduction of minimum room standards in paragraph 2 and through 2.3 and 2.4, a system for managing breaches of 2.1 a landlord was not aware of.
9. Agree to adopt the proposed revised fee charging mechanism for houses in multiple occupation applications attached as Appendix 5 of the report made on or after the 1st February 2021.
10.Agree to adopt the proposed revised HMO licence conditions attached as Appendix 7 for new HMO licences issued on or after the 1st February 2021.
11.Authorise officers to arrange the publication of the documentation, subject to updates to ensure that typographical matters, such as reference to draft and seeking Cabinet approval, are updated prior to publication.