Council threat of Improvement Notice

Landlord Discussion
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Following on from a previous thread, I am in dispute with my 2xT’s (23yo & 24yo) 20 months into an AST. There has been water damage which has rotted the corner of a kitchen worktop. This was caused by the silicon beading degrading with age. The Ts sent me a photo which looked line a simple silicon repair so I visited to find the worktop had rotted as it had been going on for a while (I would imagine a good month +). I explained to the that they should have informed me a long time ago and they accepted that they would pay for a new section of counter top but have said they will pay from their deposit even though they haven’t said they want to leave or given notice - so they expect me to carry the £600+ish cost until they leave some unknown time n the future.

I got a kitchen repair guy to come in and we discussed the repair in front of one of the Ts and we discussed the degrading silicon being the cause. After that, the Ts said that it wasn’t their fault that the silicon failed. I explained I agreed it wasn’t their fault but it was down to them that it rotted away so quickly because they didn’t inform me quick enough to come and repair, and because of that they were liable.

They still refused to pay so I told them that they can either pay for the cost of repairs now or the cost will be deducted from their deposit as they requested but I will issue two months notice.

They still didn’t budge from their wanting to pay from the deposit so I issued a Section 21 and told them we now want to sell the property - which we do because with an incredibly greedy freeholder it’s all getting too much. So now they contacted the council to take advice and this has now escalated to the Licensing and Housing Enforcement Officer contacting me instructing me to register the property (which I’ve never known about until now!!) and having them visit the property to inspect the ‘damage’ that the Ts are disputing. It’s all blown completely out of proportion and the council guy has threatened to charge me with an Improvement Notice and £400 if I don’t repair the kitchen counter (which I was always going to do) repair a door handle (which I was going to do) and put a handrail in the hall for two small steps leading into the kitchen FFS!

Since the visit the council have been told of the Section 21 by the Ts and the council say my actions in serving the section 21 under these circumstances could meet the threshold for ‘retaliatory’ actions, which would be a criminal offence for which the Council could commence an investigation, leading to possible criminal charges and prosecution. They’ve advised me to instruct a solicitor!!

The world has gone mad!! We’re talking about a very nice Victorian flat here, not some dump of a property with damp and infestations. How can the council threaten me like this and blindly support the tenants without even asking for my side of the story? Is a Licensing and Housing Enforcement Officer even allowed to legally advise the tenants?

Sorry for the long-winded story but I’d really like some opinions. Thanks.

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Firstly, the retaliatory eviction legislation is very specific. The tenants have to have written to you in advance of the s21 to report a defect. Secondly, the defects has to be a cat 1 or 2 hazard under HHSRS and only then may the Council get involved. From what youve said, I’m not sure it meets the threshold for retaliatory eviction. Its also not a criminal offence.

Are you sure you’ve understood them correctly? Did they say anything else? Have they written to you? Its possible they’re just trying to scare you into not acting on the s21.

In an informal sense, it does sound like your s21 is in retaliation for damage that may have more to do with the quality of your inspection regime than the tenants negligence. My thoughts on tenant responsibility and deposit claims are in your other post

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If a tenant is served a section 21 the local authority are obliged to house them. They are contacting you because they cannot afford to house these tenants.

When you served a s21 did you serve a covering letter stating your reason for eviction?

When I serve a s21 I always document the reason so that if the local authority contact me I have evidence refute this. If you are in fact selling can you not serve a section 8 too?

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I believe its not advisable to put any reasons for s21 in writing. S21 is the no reason required notice and my understanding is the courts have told landlords they should serve a s8 notice if its reason based.

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Did you offer an interest free loan to be paid back by increased rent? Did you have the opportunitity to increase rent to recoup the costs yourself?

Personally, I would not have issued a S21 over an issue like this. It risked the world of pain you now find yourself in.

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That’s not quite correct. The tenant does not need to make the landlord aware of the issue. If the tenant goes directly to the council and they inspect the property and issue a notice, you can’t issue a valid section 21 notice within 6 months of the council notice. If the landlord issued one beforehand, it remains valid. You are only referring to the second scenario where if a tenant informed a landlord of an issue and the landlord does nothing within 14 days, the tenant can then ask the council to intervene. If the council issues a notice, then the section 21 that the landlord already issued becomes invalidated.

The easiest get out clause for the landlord in these cases is to place the property for sale when issuing the section 21 notice, and therefore the landlord can still issue a valid section 21 according to the Deregulation Act 2015.

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So:
1 - I was in the process of arranging to repairing the kitchen counter and the door handle and the Ts went to the council.

2 - A Licensing and Housing Enforcement Officer emailed me to say he had served a S16 and s235 requiring information about the property as well as a s239 notice of entry for the property

3 - the Council instructed me to apply for a Selective Licence which I proceeded to apply for.

4 - The council officer visited the property told me I needed to repair the counter, repair the door handle and put a handrail on the wall for two steps in the hall and let him know timescales or he would serve an Improvement Notice on them which carries a charge of £400.

5 - I then issued a Form 6A to the Ts informing them we had decided to sell the flat (which we’d been considering for 18 months previously) and gave them two months notice.

6 - The Ts informed the council who wrote “I note that this service was actioned following my inspection on 14/08/2025 pursuant to section 239 powers under the Housing Act 2004, and at which time I identified several Category 1 and 2 hazards with reference to the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS), and after I informed you of my intention to serve an Improvement Notice under section 11 or 12 of the Act, as applicable.”

He also wrote: Therefore, I write to inform you that your actions in serving the section 21 under these circumstances could meet the threshold for ‘retaliatory’ actions, which would be a criminal offence for which the Council could commence an investigation, leading to possible criminal charges and prosecution.

He continued: Furthermore, the provisions of the Housing Act 2004, make the service of a section 21 Notice invalid where a property that qualifies to be licensed under Part 2 or 3 of the Act, is not so licensed.

Therefore, I would strongly recommend that you take the appropriate legal advice from a solicitor with regards to the legal merits of your actions in serving the section 21 under the circumstances set out. Please advise me urgently of your decision on this matter, so that the council may consider its actions under its statutory duties.

When I issued the Section 21 I was in the process of repairing the kitchen counter and door handle (items purchased and quote received). The Improvement Notice was not issued at that time and not intended - just informed me of the consequence of not carrying out the work.

And as a private landlord I had never heard of the Selective Licensing and never received any notice or information that this was required by the council when it was brought in mid 2024 in Lewisham.

As I said, this is a nice flat, not a dump, and has escalated because the tenants only want me to pay and carry the cost until they leaver at some time in the future and use their deposit money.

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Technically, you haven’t received a notice so it shouldn’t meet the threshold, but it depends on the judge and they may order a hearing to take place. Simply informing a tenant of your intention to sell is not enough. You need to be able to prove that the property is genuinely on the market at the time the notice is issued, in other words, it needs to be listed on Rightmove with an estate agent at a market value price, not an inflated price, where you know there is no realistic prospect to sell. Your mistake is that you issued the notice without the property being on the market and therefore the Deregulation Act 2015, will not protect you from retaliatory eviction. Place the property on the market and only after you do that, re-issue another section 21, so you know that if will be bulletproof in court and they will not be able to claim retaliatory eviction.

This is the only method of proceeding without encountering further retaliatory claims.

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I thought once you serve a s21 you cannot serve a s21 for another six months?

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they are after you. Do the jobs, Withdraw S2! leave for a few months , dust settle and then re do them as they deserve it

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I think this is unusually aggressive . I’ve had LA inspections brought about by tenants but the LA have seen through their agenda. In fact they were kind enough to call me before the letter was sent out to tell me they were obliged to inspect after his allegations and they were fed up with him as he was calling every day. The council even told me the tenant had gone to the university to complain but I heard nothing from them (so they told me that meant the university felt it was all in order) . It may be your borough or just the inspector you had. We had damp and the inspector was kind enough to give me grace until the tenant departed after their AST, knowing the tenant was difficult . The tenant even shouted at me before he left because the council stopped responding to his calls / emails .

I had to remove an external fire case. They gave me 12 months grace to do it. It may be that they knew me through their accreditation scheme and we were inspected every few years anyway.

I would get the jobs done within 14 days to show good faith . Send them the pictures and receipts in an email and then market the property and I would seek legal advice.

Of all the issues the bannister on two steps is how they have introduced the category 1/2 hazard. It seems a bit aggressive. I’ve just put three steps outside an extension, that sits circa two foot above ground level, and the building inspector was not interested in a hand rail despite the builder asking him directly. I have a buildings certificate for it. On the another house we introduced two steps at the LA’s request and the HMO inspector never asked for a handrail.

It may be their prerogative to try and quash s21 in your borough.

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You can serve as many section 21s as you like, as you may have made an error on one of them. As long as you haven’t been given a council improvement notice. If you have been given an improvement notice, but your property is genuinely up for sale, under the Deregulation Act 2015, you are allowed to issue a valid S21.

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Thanks for your replies everyone. It appears to me that Licensing and Housing Enforcement or at least this representative in Lewisham is being unnecessarily combative/aggressive and siding with the Ts without really understanding the whole story.

Is this normal from a Licensing and Housing Enforcement department. Are they naturally anti-landlord?

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Yes, because if you manage to evict that tenant, then the tenant becomes the council’s problem and let’s be honest, they’re going to struggle to house them. Therefore, naturally they are going to do everything that they can to ensure that the tenant remains in your property for as long as possible. This isn’t as unusual as people may think.

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How does my tenant become the council’s problem @Fro ? They are on a private AST.

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because the council are required by law to house them if evicted thru no fault of their own

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That is irrelevant, it is their duty to house somebody, irrespective of what type of tenancy they have, if it is a no fault eviction.

Ultimately you have two options, place the property for sale and reissue a section 21 or issue a section 8, if the tenants have caused breaches in the agreement or if any h other ground applies, as retaliatory eviction isn’t covered in a section 8.

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This is worrying that you do not know this . How long have you been a landlord ? there are some basics we all should know

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You are correct that a relevant notice from the Council would also mean that any s21 notice served after it would be invalid and that there is no requirement in this case for the landlord to have been notified by the tenant, although I think in this case no such notice has been served. However, I just spotted something I missed earlier.

the Licensing and Housing Enforcement Officer contacting me instructing me to register the property (which I’ve never known about until now!!)

If the property is unlicensed and requires a licence then any s21 notice would be invalid by virtue of that fact regardless of whether the tenant knew about the licensing requirement or not.

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You are completely correct, it needed to be licensed. There is also the possibility that other basics have been missed such as the prescribed information documents, deposit scheme Ts and C’s and all other required paperwork. I would seriously consider rectifying any mistakes or missing paperwork and if the landlord is genuinely considering selling the property, then place it on the market before reissuing a S21 to negate any possibility of a retaliatory eviction claim.

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