Plain English guides for landlords and leaseholders.
Council notices, licensing, the Renters’ Rights Act and leaseholder service charges. What the paper means, what the law says, and what to do next.
Each guide explains one notice or situation in plain English, says what the law actually requires, and ends with the fixed price service that deals with it. Written by someone who has received the notices, applied for the licences and paid the service charges himself. Checked 01/10/2026.
Council enforcement
You’ve been served an improvement notice. What to do in the first 21 days.
An improvement notice is the council’s main enforcement tool under the Housing Act 2004. It’s not a suggestion, and the clock starts the day it’s served.
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Hazard awareness notices. The one that looks harmless and isn’t.
A hazard awareness notice has no deadline, no works schedule and no appeal. That’s exactly why landlords put it in a drawer, and why it comes back to bite.
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Prohibition orders and emergency action. When the council stops you using the property.
A prohibition order closes all or part of a property. Emergency remedial action means the council has already been in. Both need a fast, precise response.
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Civil penalties. What a notice of intent means and how the 28 days work.
A notice of intent is the council telling you it’s minded to fine you, and how much. The representations you make in the next 28 days are the only ones the council has to consider.
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How the council scores your property. HHSRS in plain English.
Every enforcement notice is built on a Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessment. If you understand how the scoring works, you can see whether the notice stands up.
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Community Protection Warnings and Notices. When the council uses anti-social behaviour law on landlords.
Councils are increasingly using the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 against landlords for things like waste, overgrown gardens and tenant behaviour. The process is quick and the appeal window is short.
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Licensing
Selective licensing in Liverpool. Who needs one now, and what changes in April 2027.
Liverpool’s current selective licensing scheme runs to 31 March 2027 and the council is consulting on a replacement. Letting without a licence is an offence with a £40,000 ceiling.
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HMO licensing. Mandatory licences, room sizes, the management regulations and Article 4.
Five or more people in two or more households sharing facilities is a licensable HMO everywhere in England. Smaller HMOs still have rules, and in Liverpool planning permission is the bigger trap.
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Renters’ Rights
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025. What changed on 1 May 2026 and what’s still to come.
Every assured shorthold tenancy in England became a periodic assured tenancy on 1 May 2026. Section 21 has gone. Here’s the shape of the new regime and the dates that follow.
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The written statement of terms and the information sheet. Which one you owe and when.
Two new documents came in on 1 May 2026. Which one you owe depends on when the tenancy started and whether it was in writing. Missing the one that applies is a breach of up to £7,000 per tenancy.
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Rent repayment orders. Now up to 24 months, and what a landlord can do about one.
A rent repayment order is a tenant or council application to the tribunal to get rent back for an offence. The ceiling doubled on 1 May 2026, and the tribunal doesn’t need a conviction first.
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Leaseholders
Section 20 consultation. The three stages, the thresholds and what a defective notice looks like.
If your freeholder wants you to pay more than £250 towards works, or more than £100 a year under a long-term contract, it has to consult first. Get the consultation wrong and the recoverable amount is capped.
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Challenging a service charge demand. The tests, the time limits and the documents to ask for.
A service charge is only payable if it’s reasonably incurred, the works are of a reasonable standard, the demand is valid and it’s within time. Each of those is a question you’re entitled to ask.
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Applying to the First-tier Tribunal. Section 27A, section 20C and what the pack has to contain.
The tribunal decides whether a service charge is payable and how much. It’s designed for people without lawyers, but the application that wins is the one with the documents in order.
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Complaining to a housing association and the Housing Ombudsman. The code, the stages and the timescales.
If your freeholder is a housing association, you have a complaints process with statutory timescales and an ombudsman behind it. It’s slow, it’s free, and it produces a written record the tribunal will read.
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Forming a Recognised Tenants’ Association. The rights it gives you and how to get recognised.
A recognised association has statutory standing your landlord has to deal with. It’s consulted on works and managing agents, can appoint a surveyor, and can demand information the individual leaseholder can’t.
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Can’t find it? Try the Q&A, use the assistant in the corner, or send us the document.