Housing

It is estimated that most people spend 75 per cent of their time at home. Housing conditions have a significant impact on health and wellbeing.

We have a legal obligation to take action to deal with public health nuisances in housing and to inspect and assess the fitness of houses for human habitation in Ards and North Down. Our Environmental Health Officers deal with unsafe and unhealthy living conditions in the rented housing sector.

This includes:

privately rented properties.
properties owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and housing associations.
owner-occupied housing.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) provides public housing in Northern Ireland. NIHE is also responsible for securing the improvement, closure or demolition of houses in the private sector that fall short of the statutory fitness standard. The NIHE can be contacted on 03448 920900 or email information@nihe.gov.uk.

For any queries on the following, please contact the Public Health and Housing Team on 0300 013 3333 to discuss or email us at env.health@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk.

To read about Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords managing private rented accommodation see Housing

Private Rented Accommodation: The Rights and Responsibilities of Private Tenants.

New Private Tenancies (NI) Act 2022

The Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 comes into force on 1 April 2023 and provides greater protections for those living in the Private Rented Sector.

Landlords and Tenants need to be aware of the changes the new legislation will introduce.

The new requirements for landlords include providing tenants with a free notice containing tenancy information. This includes current tenants who have not already received this type of tenancy information. Landlords must also provide tenants with a notice of variation when any changes are made to their tenancies and must provide receipts to tenants for any cash payments relating to their tenancy.

Tenants can no longer be asked to pay a tenancy deposit of more than one month's rent and the time a landlord has to protect a tenancy deposit and provide the required information to a tenant has increased. Offences relating to protecting tenancy deposits have been made continuing offences so even if a tenant only realises at the end of the tenancy that their tenancy deposit should have been protected but wasn't, the landlord can still face a penalty.

Future changes to the private rented sector are planned which will introduce increased regulation in relation to:

Energy Efficiency of Dwellings
Electrical Safety Standards
Standardisation of Notice to Quit documents
Increasing the ways a tenant can pay their rent.

More details about the Private Tenancy Act, including a Private Tenancy Act booklet can be downloaded below;

DfC Private Tenancy Act Booklet March 2023 (PDF, 226 KB) (opens new window)

DfC Private Tenancy Act Leaflet March 2023 (PDF, 148 KB) (opens new window)

New Requirement for Smoke, Heat and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Landlords are now required to install and maintain in proper working order, sufficient alarms for detecting smoke, heat and carbon monoxide within any property that they rent out to tenants.

The Regulations come into operation on 1 September 2024, for all new private tenancies granted on or after this date. Existing tenancies granted before 1 September 2024, must comply by 1 December 2024.This means all privately rented properties must comply and install the required smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms by the compliance dates.

Any alarm units that are installed must be marked/referenced as being British Standard compliant. If any alarms are to be hardwired into the main electrical installation, that work will need to be undertaken by a qualified electrician.

Landlords should keep a formal record of when alarms are installed or replaced. A copy should also be placed within any information pack located in the property for the tenant's information.

Tenants should regularly test the alarms according to the manufacturer's instructions and must report any faults to the landlord.

Failure to comply with the duty to keep in repair and proper working order sufficient appliances for detecting smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide in a private tenancy, will be an offence under the Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006 and will result in a Fixed Penalty Notice of £500 being issued for each offence upon the landlord with the possibility of further legal action should non-compliance continue.

More information can be found on the Department for Communities web page https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/smoke-heat-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-private-tenancies-regulations-northern-ireland-2024-guidance

Property Fitness/Disrepair

Councils in Northern Ireland are responsible for ensuring that properties which are rented privately, are in good repair and condition, and are fit for human habitation.

If you are a tenant living in a rented property and are concerned that it's in disrepair, or you suspect the property is unfit to live in, you may wish to contact us to discuss although we advise you first report the matter to your landlord or agent.

For further information please visit: Private renting | nidirect

Harassment and Illegal Eviction

A private tenant can only be made to leave their home if a court of law has issued a court order.

Our Public Health and Housing team can:

provide advice to landlords and tenants
investigate complaints of harassment and unlawful eviction
prosecute landlords who have harassed or illegally evicted their tenants.

Harassment

A landlord who continually acts in a way that is designed to make a tenant leave the property could be guilty of harassment.

Examples include:

interfering with gas, water and electricity supplies
making threats and instructing a tenant to leave
entering the property without consent
refusing to carry out repairs
making frequent unannounced visits, especially late at night.

Tenants should record the details of any harassment including the date, time and a short description of the incident.

Unlawful Eviction

This occurs when a landlord, or any person acting for them, forces or attempts to force a tenant from their home without following the proper legal procedures.

Examples include:

changing the locks to a property when a tenant is not at home
physically throwing a tenant out
preventing a tenant from getting into part, or all of their home.

If a landlord requires their tenant to stop living at their property, they must issue a 'notice to quit'. The length of notice required to be given, will be dependent on the length of the tenancy. The notice to quit should be in writing and both the landlord and tenant should keep a copy. If the tenant has not left when the notice has run out, the landlord must apply for a Possession Order from a Magistrates' court.

www.nidirect.gov.uk/protection-against-eviction

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

On 1st April 2019, licensing laws for shared flats and houses changed. On this date, the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 came into operation and local councils across NI took over responsibility for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) from the NI Housing Executive. All HMOs must now be licensed by their local council. This new scheme aims to regulate HMOs to ensure the health, safety and well-being of occupants and minimise any negative impacts on neighbourhoods and surrounding area.

Belfast City Council manages the delivery of the scheme on behalf of all local councils.

For further advice please visit: Belfast City Council - Houses in Multiple Occupation

Landlord Registration Scheme

All landlords with properties in Northern Ireland must be registered with the Department for Communities (DfC) Landlord Registration Scheme and have a Landlord Registration certificate. The certificate is valid for three years and costs £70.00

If you are a tenant, you can check if your landlord is registered, and if they're not you can contact us to discuss.

Search the Landlord Register at NI Direct.

Environmental Health Departments in Northern Ireland enforce this scheme for Department for Communities, and if a landlord fails to register or provides false information for registration we can issue them with a fixed penalty of up to £500, or take offenders to court where they could be fined up to £2,500.

Tenancy Information Notice

For any tenancy beginning on or after 1st April 2023, a landlord must provide a Tenancy Information Notice to the tenant within 28 days of granting the tenancy and it must be free of charge. The format of the tenancy information notice is set in law and a template notice is available here

DfC PTA Tenancy Info Notice doc (Word doc, 34 KB) (opens new window)

DfC PTA Tenancy Info Notice Notes pdf (PDF, 94 KB) (opens new window)

Landlords must provide the same notice to tenants whose tenancies were granted between 30 June 2011 and 30 March 2023, unless they have already been provided with the same information.

If a tenancy term is varied (regardless of the start date of tenancy) the landlord must, within 28 days of the date of tenancy being varied, give the tenant a notice containing information relating to variation. It must be free and the format of the notice is set in law also.

Rent Book

All private tenants should receive a rent book within 28 days of their tenancy beginning and it should be free of charge.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Most landlords will ask for a security deposit from a tenant in a property. This money is used as insurance against any damage you may cause or rent you may owe at the end of the tenancy.

Securing the Deposit

For any deposit paid between 1 April 2013 and 31st March 2023:

It must be protected in an approved scheme within 14 days of it being paid.

The prescribed information about the scheme must be given to the tenant, within 28 days of the landlord receiving the deposit.

For any deposit paid after 1 April 2023:

It must be protected in an approved scheme within 28 days of it being paid.

The prescribed information about the scheme must be given to the tenant, within 35 days of the landlord receiving the deposit.

The two appointed scheme administrators in Northern Ireland are:

For more information, visit NI Direct Tenancy Deposit Scheme - information for landlords.

If you suspect that your Landlord has not secured your deposit, please contact us to discuss.

Any Tenancy Deposit paid after 1st April 2023, cannot be more than one month's rent.

Failure to comply with the above requirements is now a continuous offence throughout any period during which the offence occurs.

Receipt for Rent Paid

Landlords must provide a receipt for rent paid in cash. It must be given when payment is made or as soon as reasonably possible, and should contain:

Date
Reason for payment
Amount paid
Any arrears

Separate receipts must be given for part payments.

Giving and Receiving Notice to Quit

A landlord is required by law to provide their tenant with a written notice to quit, except in the case of a fixed term tenancy.

When a fixed-term private tenancy comes to the end of the period of time agreed at the outset, the landlord can end the tenancy. There is no need for the landlord to issue a Notice to Quit in such cases, although it is considered good practice for the landlord to give written notice of their intention not to renew the tenancy.

Depending on the length of the tenancy, the landlord must give their tenant a minimum notice to quit period. These notice periods are:

Length of tenancy: Tenancy not been in existence for more than 12 months

Notice to quit: No less than 4 weeks' written notice

Length of tenancy: Tenancy has been in existence for more than 12 months but not more than 10 years

Notice to quit: No less than 8 weeks' written notice

Length of tenancy: Tenancy has been in existence for more than 10 years

Notice to quit: No less than 12 weeks' written notice

Should a tenant need to end the tenancy, depending on the length of the tenancy they must give their landlord a minimum notice to quit period. These notice periods are:

Length of tenancy: Tenancy not been in existence for more than 10 years

Notice to quit: No less than 4 weeks' written notice

Length of tenancy: Tenancy has been in existence for more than 10 years

Notice to quit: No less than 12 weeks' written notice

Protected/ Statutory Tenants

If you are a protected and/or statutory tenant, then you have considerable security of tenure.

Process once the Notice to Quit period has Ended

If you remain in the property once the time given in a Notice to Quit has passed, your landlord must follow the due process of law and apply to the courts for a Possession Order in order to gain vacant possession of the property. Please be aware that your landlord has the right to pursue any costs relating to this, in the Small Claims Court.

Further advice and information can be found at Private Rent and Tenancies | nidirect.