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Private Housing

Renting a home from a private landlord or agent is a good housing solution and very flexible. Often this is the first accommodation people live in once they leave home.

The private rented market is very varied and the standard of accommodation and management can also differ greatly. We can give you guidance on the legal standards for private rented housing, advice on how to go about letting or renting a property and what to do if you have problems. We have a range of powers that can be used to ensure properties are safe and well managed and tenants are free from harassment and nuisance.

Call B4 You Serve

Help and advice for landlords who may be experiencing difficulties with tenants, who have had a breakdown in communication or are thinking about serving an eviction notice. Free advice on how to proceed.

Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is used to assess potential risks to the health and safety of occupants in residential properties. The assessment method focuses on the hazards that are most likely to be present in housing, tackling these hazards will make homes healthier and safer to live in.

DASH Landlord Accreditation

The Council invites landlords to join the DASH accreditation scheme (.pdf | 310kb).

The Council has worked in partnership with DASH (Decent and safe Homes) Services since 2005 and the landlord accreditation (formally known as EMLAS) is a region-wide scheme that encourages and rewards good property standards and management practice in the private rented sector.

Membership normally costs £99 however landlords in North East Derbyshire are able to join free of charge and membership will last 3 years.

For further advice on private renting, tenants and landlords visit the websites below;

Disabled Facilities Grant

What is it?

If you or a person living with you is disabled, you may qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to adapt your property to enable the disabled person to live as independently as possible.

Who can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant?

Owner-occupiers, landlords and a wide range of tenants can apply for a DFG. You can apply if you are the disabled person, the landlord of a disabled person, or someone living with a disabled person.

Private sector tenants require consent from their landlord prior to any works being carried out.

Do I qualify for a grant?

The disabled person will need to have an assessment by occupational health at Derbyshire County Council, who will advise us what works are considered necessary and appropriate for your or their needs.

If you think you need an adaptation in your home, contact Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190, and press option 2 to arrange an assessment of your needs.

If Derbyshire County Council decide that adaptations are required, they will then forward recommendations to us and we will make sure that the works are reasonable and practical for your home.

What adaptations can be carried out?

Typical work may include:

  • Providing adequate wash facilities, e.g replacing a bath with a level access shower
  • Adapting heating and lighting controls, e.g by placing them at wheelchair height
  • Facilitating access into the home or within it to the bathroom or bedroom, eg by a stair lift

How is the grant calculated?

Applicants must be financially means tested to assess whether you are required to make a contribution towards the works. Any contribution depends on your household income and household savings over £6,000. Disabled children under 18 can get a grant without their parents’ income being taken into account.

The maximum grant payable is £30,000.

There are conditions to the grant which means that the amount of grant may be reclaimed if the property changes hands within the 10-year condition period. Any repayment will be limited to amounts that exceed £5000, but will not exceed a repayment of £10,000

It is important not to start any works before formal grant approval is issued. Payments cannot be made for costs incurred prior to formal grant approval.

How do I apply?

If you think you need an adaptation in your home contact Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190, and press option 2 to arrange an assessment of your needs. If an adaptation is determined as necessary, your case will be referred to the District Council and we will contact you to progress your application.

If you wish to discuss this in more detail, please contact the Technical Support Team in Environmental Health:

Harassment and Illegal Eviction

Our Housing Options team assist people who are threatened with harassment and eviction and can offer advice on illegal eviction and private tenancies. Harassment and illegal eviction of tenants is a criminal offence, prosecuted by local authorities and the only way a tenant can be made to leave their property is via a court order. A person found guilty of harassment or illegal eviction faces a maximum fine of 5,000 pounds or up to 6 months in prison. They will also have a criminal record. Tenants can also take civil action and may win thousands of pounds in compensation

If you are suffering harassment or illegal eviction, you should ring the Housing Options team or visit our offices at Wingerworth preferably by appointment.

If urgent problems arise outside office hours, ring the police.

HMOs - Houses in Multiple Occupation

A domestic property is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) if the following applies:

  • at least 3 tenants live there, forming more than 1 household
  • you share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants

Your home is a large HMO if all of the following apply:

  • it’s at least 3 storeys high
  • at least 5 tenants live there, forming more than 1 household
  • you share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants

The Government website has the full definition and regulations for HMO’s. If you wish to apply for a HMO licence or require further information please contact us:

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We are alerting local landlords who manage houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) to important forthcoming HMO property licensing changes. From 1st October 2018 all Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s) with 5 or more occupiers living as 2 or more households, must have a HMO Licence from their local authority. Where a HMO is occupied by less than 5 people, it will not require a licence.

The Government have introduced this change to widen out the scope from the previous HMO licensing regime, which only applied to HMO properties of three storeys or above.

Suitability and condition of the building must have:

  • fire safety arrangements are in place and adequate
  • the building has sufficient space and amenities
  • required documents (such as current gas safety certificate and electrical installation condition report)

Landlords of relevant HMO properties must ensure that they submit an application for an HMO licence to the Council. Applications can be made by contacting the Joint Environmental Health Service for an application form. There is an initial application fee of £496, with a further fee when the licence is granted of £111, making a total HMO licence fee of £607 (we are under a legal obligation to split the fee). The HMO licence will last for up to 5 years.

If landlords do not have a licence, or breach HMO licence conditions, they are committing a criminal offence. Landlords of properties who are already licensed under the previous HMO licensing scheme do not need to re-apply until their current HMO licence is close to expiry.

For further information please contact Joint Environmental Health Service:

Park homes, mobile homes and caravans

Caravan sites may be residential, holiday or touring sites and if you use land as a caravan site you will almost always need to get planning permission and a site licence from us. For further information view our Park and mobile homes and caravans (.pdf | 97kb) leaflet.

Housing Disrepair Online Signposting Tool

The Ministry of Justice has developed a housing disrepair online signposting tool to help private rented sector tenants who have housing disrepair issues. The tool has been developed to give users the information and guidance they need to resolve their housing disrepair issues before they worsen.

The tool asks users a series of targeted questions before providing tailored information, guidance, and signposting to relevant advice and support. This helps users understand their rights and responsibilities and identify an appropriate next step when trying to resolve their housing disrepair issues. The online tool can be accessed via the link below: