Purpose and scope
2.1
This policy contributes to the Corporate Priorities 2022-2026.
2.2
The Council will utilise a range of delegated powers to deal with statutory nuisance from property, hazards and amenity standards in the home which affect the health, safety, comfort and convenience of occupiers, visitors, and the public.
2.3
The purpose of this policy is to outline the areas of legislation used and to set out the Council's policy where the legislation permits discretion. It sets out the:
- investigative pathway associated with different tenures (section 3);
- how the team will respond to service requests in relation to enforcing housing standards, and the situations where a service may not be provided (Section 4);
- the enforcement actions that will be considered to secure housing improvements (Section 5);
- the range of proactive and statutory actions to improve housing standards that are available (Section 6);
- the Charges for Notices, and the use of Civil Penalties (Section 7);
- the complaints process (Section 9)
2.4
The extent of enforcement will be related to the risk posed by the condition or situation and the likely benefits achieved by compliance. In accordance with requirements, a policy and statement of intent on how Civil Penalties and smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements will be applied are set out in Appendix 3 (Civil Penalties Policy for Housing Offences), Appendix 4 (The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020) and Appendix 5 (Statement of Principles for the determining of financial penalties - The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015) respectively.