Can the council increase the fine amount for my landlord's housing offences after the mistake happened?

The situation

I am a tenant living in a flat in Manchester, England. Back in February 2023, my landlord completely failed to carry out essential repairs on the electrical wiring, which was a major safety issue. The local council inspected the property and confirmed that the landlord had committed several serious offences regarding the safety standards of the dwelling. I know that the council was planning to take him to court to issue a fine for these breaches. However, I have recently heard from a neighbour that the government might be changing the standard amounts that these fines can be, because the value of money has changed so much due to inflation over the last few years. My main concern is about the timing. If the council or the government passes a new order this month to increase the maximum fine amounts for housing safety breaches, can they actually charge my landlord that higher amount for the electrical issues that occurred way back in February 2023? Or are they stuck using the old, lower fine amounts because the offence was committed before the new rules were officially put in place?

Detailed Analysis

In your case, the landlord's failure to repair the electrical wiring occurred in February 2023. Even if the government passes a new order this month to increase the maximum fine amounts to account for inflation, those new amounts cannot be applied to your landlord's past conduct.

The Housing Act 2004 allows the Secretary of State to change fine amounts to reflect the changing value of money^[2]. However, there is a strict protection for people accused of offences that happened in the past. Section 252 of the Act states that "Nothing in an order under subsection (2) affects the punishment for an offence committed before the order comes into force"^[1]. This means that the law protects against 'retroactive' punishment—where the rules change after the act has already happened.

Because your landlord's electrical safety breaches happened in February 2023, the council must look at the rules that were in place at that time. If a new order is passed this month, it only applies to new offences committed from this month onwards. The council is effectively "stuck" using the fine limits that were legally active during the period the electrical issues occurred^[1].

While the council has the power to impose financial penalties for housing offences in England^[2], they must follow the specific limits set by the law at the time the offence was committed. Please note that local council policies or other specific housing regulations may add further rules to how they manage these cases.

Statutory Citations

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