Improvement Notice in Wales: What Landlords Must Do and How to Appeal

What an Improvement Notice Is

An Improvement Notice is a formal enforcement tool issued by a local authority under Sections 11 and 12 of the Housing Act 2004. In Wales, Environmental Health Officers in each of the 22 local councils carry out property inspections and can serve these notices when they find hazards in a rented dwelling.

The notice specifies:

• The hazard(s) identified, assessed under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
• The remedial works required to reduce or remove the hazard
• The deadlines for starting and completing those works. The council cannot require work to start within 28 days of service; completion dates depend on the notice and the work required.

There are two types. A Section 11 notice is served when the officer identifies a Category 1 hazard — a serious risk of harm. A Section 12 notice applies to Category 2 hazards — less serious but still requiring action at the council's discretion.

Your Options When You Receive One

You have three paths:

1. Comply with the notice. Carry out the specified works within the deadline, then notify the council that the works are complete. The council may re-inspect to confirm.

2. Appeal to the Residential Property Tribunal Wales. You have 21 days from the date the notice is served to file an appeal with the RPT. Appeals must go directly to the tribunal — there is no council-level appeals form. Common grounds for appeal include disputing the hazard assessment, arguing that the specified remedial action is excessive, or challenging the timeline as unreasonable.

3. Do nothing. This is the worst option. If you fail to comply with an Improvement Notice and do not appeal, the council can carry out the works itself and recover its costs under section 31 and Schedule 3 of the Housing Act 2004, or prosecute you for the offence of failing to comply. A conviction on indictment can carry an unlimited fine. The notice also registers as a local land charge against the property, which prospective buyers and mortgage lenders will see.

Filing an Appeal with RPT Wales

The appeal goes to the Residential Property Tribunal Wales, not to your local council. You must file within 21 days of service of the notice. The appeal is made under Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 2004.

The appeal suspends the notice — you do not need to carry out the works while the appeal is pending, unless the tribunal orders otherwise. However, the Section 91 fitness duty under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 still applies: even if the Improvement Notice is suspended on appeal, if the property is objectively unfit for human habitation, rent is not payable for that period and the contract-holder may pursue a civil claim.

The tribunal can confirm, vary, or quash the notice. It can also substitute different remedial works if it agrees a hazard exists but disagrees with the council's specified remedy.

The Overlap with Fitness for Human Habitation

An Improvement Notice and a fitness breach under Section 91 are separate legal mechanisms, but they can target the same problems. A Category 1 hazard may also contribute to unfitness under the 29 statutory matters, but an Improvement Notice does not automatically establish that the Section 91 test is met.

The consequences are separate. In addition to the council's enforcement powers (prosecution and cost recovery), you may face:

• Rent not payable for the period the property is unfit
• Blocked Section 173 possession notices
• An RRO only if a separate qualifying Rent Smart Wales licensing offence is involved; an Improvement Notice or fitness breach alone does not create a Welsh RRO

Addressing the Improvement Notice resolves the council enforcement side but does not automatically resolve the civil fitness claim. You also need to serve the required safety documents on your contract-holder and confirm the remedial works are complete.

Preventing Improvement Notices

The most effective strategy is making sure the council never finds a hazard in the first place. The 29 hazard categories in the Welsh Fitness Regulations map directly to the HHSRS hazards that Environmental Health Officers assess. A regular self-inspection structured around those same 29 categories catches defects before they escalate to the point where a tenant complaint triggers a council visit.

Councils do not inspect every rental property proactively. Most Improvement Notices result from a contract-holder or neighbour complaint, or from a routine inspection triggered by an HMO licence renewal. If your contract-holder reports a problem and you respond promptly with documented remedial action, the complaint often never reaches the council.

The Fitness for Human Habitation compliance guide includes a Section 173 Readiness Audit that tracks every document and safety certificate needed to maintain a valid possession right — including the gap analysis that flags an upcoming compliance lapse before it becomes an enforcement problem.

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