Croydon Housing Enforcement and Property Inspections: What Landlords Face

How Croydon's Enforcement Works

Croydon Council's Private Sector Housing Team is responsible for enforcing housing standards and property licensing across the borough. The team inspects licensed and unlicensed properties, investigates complaints and takes enforcement action where landlords fail to meet their legal obligations.

Enforcement operates on two tracks: licensing compliance (checking that licensable properties have a valid licence and meet its conditions) and housing standards (assessing properties against the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, or HHSRS, under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004).

What Triggers an Inspection

Inspections happen for several reasons:

• Routine licensing inspections — the council inspects a proportion of licensed properties during the licence term to verify compliance with licence conditions and room standards
• Tenant complaints — a tenant reporting damp, disrepair, overcrowding, faulty electrics or pest infestation can trigger an HHSRS inspection
• New licence applications — the council may inspect a property as part of processing a licence application, particularly for HMOs where room sizes and amenity ratios must be verified in person
• Intelligence-led targeting — the enforcement team uses data on energy performance, council tax records and complaint patterns to identify properties likely to be unlicensed or non-compliant
• Neighbour complaints — reports of anti-social behaviour, waste accumulation or suspected overcrowding from neighbouring properties

You will usually receive notice before a planned inspection, though the council has powers to enter at short notice (or without notice in emergencies) to investigate Category 1 hazards.

What Inspectors Check

During an HHSRS inspection, council officers assess the property against 29 statutory housing hazards. The most commonly flagged issues in Croydon's private rented sector include:

• Damp and mould — particularly in older properties without adequate ventilation
• Excess cold — insufficient heating or poor insulation
• Fire safety — missing smoke or CO alarms, blocked escape routes, non-fire-rated doors in HMOs
• Electrical hazards — exposed wiring, outdated consumer units, lack of a satisfactory EICR
• Falls — uneven steps, missing handrails, trip hazards in common areas
• Overcrowding — bedrooms below minimum size standards, too many occupants for the property configuration

For licensed properties, inspectors also verify specific licence conditions: are gas and electrical certificates current? Are alarm systems installed and functional? Are floor plans accurate? Is the licence displayed in HMO common areas?

Improvement Notices and Enforcement Action

If an inspector identifies a Category 1 hazard (serious risk of harm to occupants), the council must take enforcement action. For Category 2 hazards (less serious but still significant), the council can choose to act. The enforcement tools include:

• Improvement Notice — requires the landlord to carry out specified remedial works within a set deadline (typically 28 days to start, longer for complex works). Failure to comply is a criminal offence carrying a civil penalty of up to £40,000, with Croydon's policy starting point at £25,000.
• Prohibition Order — prohibits the use of all or part of the property until hazards are resolved (used for severe risks where occupation is dangerous)
• Emergency Remedial Action — the council carries out immediate works and recovers costs from the landlord (used for imminent risk to life)
• Civil penalties — up to £40,000 per offence as an alternative to prosecution, for licensing offences and failure to comply with notices

How to Prepare

The best defence against enforcement action is keeping ahead of the standards before an inspection happens:

• Maintain current certificates — gas safety (annual), EICR (every five years), EPC (current and Band E minimum)
• Fix reported issues promptly — if a tenant reports damp, a dripping pipe or a faulty boiler, address it quickly and keep a written record of the work done
• Keep the property clean and safe — common areas in HMOs must be clear of obstruction, well-lit and properly ventilated
• Document everything — maintenance records, contractor invoices, tenant communications and alarm test logs all demonstrate compliance if an inspector asks

For property standards and enforcement, contact Croydon Council's Private Sector Housing Team at [email protected] or 020 8760 5476. For HMO-specific matters, call 020 8604 7474 or email [email protected].

For a full compliance checklist covering every aspect of Croydon licensing, see our landlord licensing guide.

See more England guides →