Landlord compliance fines and penalties in England: every number on one page

How much can a landlord be fined? It depends on which obligation was missed: from £5,000 for a missing alarm to an unlimited fine for gas safety. Every figure below is the statutory maximum for England, taken from the legislation or official guidance linked beside it. Actual penalties are set case by case and are usually lower. The table is the summary, and the sections after it say what each obligation actually requires. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own penalties, and the main enforcement routes in each are summarised near the end.

Gas safety: unlimited fine

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require a gas safety check of every appliance and flue every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, with the record given to tenants. Unlike most items on this page, enforcement is criminal from the start: the Health and Safety Executive prosecutes, and conviction can bring an unlimited fine or imprisonment. Our gas safety renewal guide covers the mechanics, including the rule, which works like an MOT, that preserves the expiry date when you renew early.

Electrical safety: £40,000 per breach

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require an electrical installation condition report (EICR) at least every 5 years, supplied to tenants and, on request, to the council; after any remedial work, the tenant and the council both get the report and written confirmation within 28 days. Local authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 per breach (the maximum was £30,000 until the 2025 amendment regulations raised it in the electrical safety regulations themselves, from 1 November 2025). That is the largest fixed figure attached to any single certificate. The EICR requirements guide covers the C1, C2, C3 and FI codes and the 28 day clock for remedial work.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: £5,000 per breach

Since 1 October 2015 a privately rented home in England has needed a smoke alarm on every storey with living accommodation. Since 1 October 2022 it has also needed a CO alarm in any such room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, and a reported fault must be repaired “as soon as reasonably practicable”. The local authority can issue a penalty charge of up to £5,000 per breach. The regulations prescribe no certificate, so the record you keep is the only evidence.

EPC minimum standard: £5,000 per property

A privately rented home in England must have an EPC rating of E or better (or a registered exemption) before it is let. Councils enforce with penalties of up to £5,000 per property, split into up to £2,000 or £4,000 for the letting itself depending on its length, £1,000 for a false register entry and £2,000 for ignoring a compliance notice. The government has decided the minimum will rise to EPC C by 1 October 2030, with a proposed maximum penalty of £30,000 per property per breach, but that still needs new legislation, so today’s stock rated D is tomorrow’s exposure rather than today’s. The exemptions and the detail are in EPC rules for rented properties.

Tenancy deposits: one to three times the deposit

In England, a deposit must be protected in a government approved scheme within 30 days, with the prescribed information served. Miss either and the court can order compensation of one to three times the deposit. Since 1 May 2026 a court can make a possession order on most grounds only if the deposit is held in an approved scheme and the prescribed information was given, under section 215 of the Housing Act 2004 as rewritten by the Renters’ Rights Act. The compensation applies per tenancy, and claims can reach back through historic renewals. The deadlines, the schemes and the five week cap are in tenancy deposit protection deadlines.

Category 1 hazards: £7,000

Since 22 June 2026 a council can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 where a rented home has a Category 1 hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System that it would have been reasonably practicable to remove, under section 6A of the Housing Act 2004, inserted by the Renters’ Rights Act and brought into force by the third commencement regulations. Damp and mould are the hazard most often reported, which is where Awaab’s Law comes in.

Right to Rent: £20,000 per person at the top end

Landlords in England must check that every adult occupier has the right to rent before the tenancy starts. Since February 2024 the civil penalties are up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for repeats (£5,000/£10,000 for lodgers). These are the figures that scale fastest with portfolio size, because they apply per person, and they fall on the agent where it has accepted the duty in writing. The Right to Rent checks guide covers how to do the check and the follow up checks.

Tenant fees: £5,000, then £30,000

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans most charges to tenants beyond rent, deposits and a short list of defaults. A first breach carries a penalty of up to £5,000; a further breach within five years is a criminal offence, with a civil penalty of up to £30,000 available as an alternative to prosecution.

HMO licensing: unlimited fine

Operating a licensable HMO without a licence is a criminal offence carrying an unlimited fine, or the council can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 instead (£30,000 for offences before 1 May 2026, when the ceiling in the Housing Act 2004 was raised). An unlicensed HMO also exposes the landlord to rent repayment orders. Which properties need a licence, including under a council’s additional or selective scheme, is in the HMO licensing guide.

Rent repayment orders: up to 24 months’ rent

For offences such as unlicensed HMOs or illegal eviction, a tribunal can order rent repaid to tenants. Under the Renters’ Rights Act the maximum is now up to 24 months’ rent for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 (12 months’ worth for offences before that date). The government’s rent repayment order guidance sets out the maximum of two years, with repeat offenders ordered to pay the maximum.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and the £7,000/£40,000 pattern

The Act’s new duties include registering on the PRS Database (required region by region from 15 December 2026 for homes that are let, with registration before marketing to follow in a later phase) and joining the new ombudsman once it is running. The rules already in force on fixed terms, ending a tenancy, possession notices and written information follow one enforcement pattern under section 15: up to £7,000 for a breach, and up to £40,000 or criminal prosecution for the offences GOV.UK lists. The PRS Database and ombudsman duties will follow it once they apply. Once the registration duty applies, a landlord who is not properly registered can also find possession proceedings blocked until they are.

The bans on rental bidding and discrimination against tenants with children or on benefits have no criminal offence and no £40,000 tier. Each penalty is capped at £7,000, but penalties can add up. GOV.UK says a landlord and anyone acting for them can each be fined for discrimination, and that the council can issue a new fine of up to £7,000 every 28 days while it continues. A repeat of the same breach within five years can bring a further penalty of up to £7,000 on top of the penalty for that breach: GOV.UK’s bidding example totals up to £21,000 across two breaches.

Unlawful eviction or harassment of a residential occupier is a criminal offence. Since 1 May 2026 a council in England can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 instead, under section 58.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The figures above are England’s. Great Britain shares one set of gas safety regulations, so the gas duties are the same in Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own, and HSENI prosecutes landlords who breach them. Beyond gas, the penalties differ, except that Wales shares England’s EPC minimum standard and its unlimited fine for an unlicensed HMO. The main routes:

• Wales: Rent Smart Wales enforces landlord registration and licensing with fixed penalty notices of £150 or £250, prosecution, rent repayment orders and rent stopping orders, and a landlord who is unregistered, or unlicensed without a licensed agent, cannot give a no-fault notice. An unprotected deposit can cost one to three times the deposit, ordered by the county court, and a late written statement of the contract costs a day’s rent for every day from the occupation date until it is given, for up to two months, with interest after that. The EPC minimum standard, with penalties of up to £5,000 per property, applies in Wales too, and an unlicensed HMO there can also bring an unlimited fine on prosecution. The HMO civil penalty above does not apply: the Housing Act 2004 civil penalties are for England only.
• Scotland: letting without landlord registration can bring a fine of up to £50,000 and a ban on letting of up to five years, and an unregistered letting agent faces up to six months in prison, a fine of up to £50,000, or both. An unlicensed HMO carries a fine of up to £50,000. Repairs, including electrical safety, alarms and damp and mould, are enforced by a First-tier Tribunal order, and failing to comply with it is an offence with a fine of up to level 3. For an unprotected deposit the Tribunal can order up to three times the deposit.
• Northern Ireland: councils enforce most private tenancy offences, with a fixed penalty offered as an alternative to prosecution, covering tenancy information notices, deposits, alarms, electrical safety and landlord registration. Not registering can mean a £500 fixed penalty or a court fine of up to £2,500; an unprotected deposit, three times the deposit or a court fine of up to £20,000; and an unlicensed HMO, a fine of up to £20,000.

The context these numbers live in

England’s private rented sector is 4.7 million households, 19% of all households (English Housing Survey 2024 to 2025). Most penalties above are per breach, per property or per person, so for an agency managing dozens of properties the practical exposure is not a single number. It is the portfolio’s most poorly kept records multiplied out, which is why a new policy rarely reduces risk as quickly as finding out, today, which properties are missing which record. For the dated certificates, the free compliance audit gives a quick date check of the Gas Safety, EICR and EPC columns in a spreadsheet (and fire risk assessments for HMOs), without an account. Keeping those records current across a portfolio is covered in managing compliance across a property portfolio and how Verixad works for letting agents.

Figures are the statutory maximums for England as at 6 November 2026, from the sources linked above; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, and the summary of their main routes was checked on 26 and 27 October 2026. Corrected 6 November 2026: the ban on rental bidding was listed with the £40,000 tier; section 57 sets £7,000 a penalty. Added the tenancy rules, discrimination, bidding and unlawful eviction rows. Corrected 6 October 2026: the electrical safety ceiling rose from £30,000 to £40,000 on 1 November 2025, not 1 May 2026 as this page said (the HMO civil penalty rose on 1 May 2026). Added the Category 1 hazard penalty and the deposit rule for possession, and updated the household count. This page is general information rather than legal advice. If you spot a figure that has changed, tell us and we will correct it with a dated note.