I got a council improvement notice — what now?

· 7 min read

An improvement notice is served under sections 11 or 12 of the Housing Act 2004 after the council has inspected and found a hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

It is not a warning letter. It is a legal instrument with a compliance date, an appeal window and a criminal offence attached to ignoring it.

Category 1 and category 2

HHSRS scores hazards into bands. Category 1 is the serious tier and the authority has a duty to act. Category 2 is less serious and the authority has a power to act.

Practically: a category 1 notice is not going away, and arguing that the hazard is minor is arguing about the score rather than the notice.

What the notice must contain

  • The hazard, and whether category 1 or 2.
  • The remedial action required.
  • The date the notice takes effect — at least 28 days after service.
  • The date by which work must start, and be completed.
  • The right of appeal and the period for it.

If any of that is missing or wrong, that is appeal material.

The 21 days

You have 21 days from service to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Grounds include that the hazard does not exist or is wrongly categorised, that the required action is unreasonable, that you are not the appropriate person, or that someone else should bear the cost.

Miss it and the notice stands whatever its merits. This is the single most consequential date in the process and it runs from service, not from when you opened the envelope.

What ignoring it costs

Failure to comply is an offence under section 30. It attracts a civil penalty of up to £30,000 under s.249A, or prosecution.

Worse, the council can do the work itself under section 31 and recover the cost from you — with the cost recoverable as a charge on the property. You lose control of scope and price, and the debt attaches to the asset.

A notice on the register also affects sale and refinancing, which is often the consequence that lands hardest.

Doing the work is not the same as complying

Compliance means the specified action, done by the specified date, and the council satisfied. Landlords who do something, do it late, or do a different thing they consider better, remain in breach.

If the specified action is wrong, the answer is to appeal or negotiate a variation — not to substitute your own remedy and hope.

What to do, in order

  1. Diarise the 21 days today. Everything else can wait a day; that cannot.
  2. Read what is actually required, and by when.
  3. Contact the officer. Most will discuss timescales for a landlord who engages. Non-engagement is what escalates cases.
  4. Get quotes immediately — availability is a real constraint and is not a defence.
  5. Appeal if the notice is wrong, on grounds, within 21 days.
  6. Confirm completion in writing and ask for confirmation the notice is satisfied.
  7. Keep everything dated. The same records answer an ombudsman complaint and an Awaab's Law timescale.

Wales

HHSRS and the Part 1 enforcement regime apply in Wales, so improvement notices work the same way. Welsh landlords also face Rent Smart Wales consequences, since enforcement action can affect a licence.

Price what else is exposed. The fine calculator shows your position with the instrument beside every figure.

Information tool, not legal advice. If a notice has been served, take advice on your specific facts.

Common questions

How long do I have to appeal an improvement notice?

21 days from service, to the First-tier Tribunal. It runs from service rather than from when you read it, and missing it means the notice stands whatever its merits.

What happens if I ignore an improvement notice?

Failure to comply is an offence under section 30 of the Housing Act 2004, attracting a civil penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution. The council can also carry out the work itself under section 31 and recover the cost as a charge on the property.

Is a category 1 hazard different from category 2?

Yes. Category 1 is the serious tier and the authority has a duty to act; category 2 is less serious and the authority has a power to act. A category 1 notice will not simply go away.

I did the work — am I compliant?

Only if you did the specified action by the specified date and the council is satisfied. Doing something different, or doing it late, leaves you in breach. If the required action is wrong, appeal or negotiate a variation rather than substituting your own remedy.

Sources

Figures about our own council records are computed when this page is built, so they cannot drift from the database. Information tool, not legal advice.

Read next

The £30,000 civil penalty: how councils actually use s.249A7 min readAwaab's Law in the private sector: the timescales that now bind landlords6 min readBanning orders and the rogue landlord database6 min readHMO conditions breaches: the fines nobody prices in6 min read

Check a specific property. Look up your council's licensing position across all 318 councils, run the free compliance check — five questions, no sign-up — or check a document with the tenancy agreement checker.