After section 249 insert—

“Financial penalties as alternative to prosecution

249AFinancial penalties for certain housing offences in England

(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 £30,000.

(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.”