Banning order
A banning order is a court order that prohibits an individual or company from letting or managing housing in England, usually for at least 12 months and sometimes indefinitely. It is made on application by a local housing authority, normally after one or more serious housing offences. For example running an unlicensed HMO, illegal eviction, serious safety breaches or fraud.
From a landlord’s perspective, a banning order is effectively a business shutdown notice for the Private Rented Sector. While it is in force you must not:
Let housing,
Engage in letting agency or property management work, or
Act as an officer of a company that does.
Breaching a banning order is a criminal offence and can also attract further civil penalties.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, banning orders sit alongside the PRS Database, civil penalties, rent repayment orders and the PRS Ombudsman as top tier enforcement tools against rogue or persistently non compliant landlords. A banning order can lead to your details being recorded on national or local databases and will be highly damaging to your reputation and ability to operate.
Professional landlords avoid this territory entirely by complying with licensing, standards, safety and redress duties, and by responding quickly and transparently when the council raises concerns.
Also see our landlord blog articles.
