Propertymark supports effective enforcement that targets poor practice and criminal behaviour in the sector. However, investigatory activity must be proportionate, properly resourced, and applied consistently.
Understanding these powers now will help agents respond calmly, lawfully, and professionally if a local authority attends their premises. Agents should review internal processes for storing tenancy, landlord, property management, and compliance records, including how electronic documents can be accessed and provided if lawfully requested. Branch staff should also know how to check an officer’s identity and authority, record what has been requested or seized, and escalate the matter internally where needed.
Detailed guidance for agents
Members can log in and download our comprehensive guide, which breaks down how officers may exercise their new powers when investigating breaches of multiple housing laws including the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, the Housing Acts 1988 and 2004, the Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Act 2013, the Housing & Planning Act 2016, and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Local Authority Investigatory Powers
From 27 December 2025, local housing authorities in England will have powers to investigate potential breaches of housing law by landlords, agents, and others involved in the private rented sector, allowing them to request information, seize documents, and enter business premises under certain circumstances.
What counts as business premises, and when can councils enter?
Local housing authorities can enter rental sector business premises, with or without a warrant, under sections 118 and 121 of the Renters’ Rights Act. Officers may enter business premises at a reasonable time to request documents or seize evidence if they reasonably believe that a relevant person is running a rental sector business there.
A rental sector business is defined broadly, and includes businesses connected with letting residential accommodation in England, creating licences to occupy residential accommodation, marketing accommodation for a tenancy or licence, or managing accommodation under a tenancy or licence. This means the powers can apply to letting and managing agency activity, not just landlords. However, the powers cannot be used for premises that are wholly or mainly used as a home.
Routine inspections usually need 24 hours’ notice
The council must give the occupier of the business premises at least 24 hours’ written notice for routine inspections without a warrant. The occupier can waive that notice period and allow entry sooner, but the guidance stresses that the person waiving notice should understand their rights and the consequences of doing so. The notice must:
- Be in writing
- Be given by a local housing authority officer
- Explain why entry is needed
- Explain the offences that may be committed if someone obstructs entry, fails to comply with a requirement, fails to give assistance or information, or knowingly or recklessly gives false or misleading information.
Entry with a warrant
If a council cannot carry out a routine inspection with at least 24 hours’ notice, it can apply for a warrant to enter specified premises. Applications must be supported with evidence, such as that entry has been refused or is likely to be refused, that giving notice may lead to evidence being hidden or tampered with, or that no occupier is present and waiting would defeat the purpose of entry.
What can officers ask for?
Once officers have entered business premises, they can ask to see documents to support their investigation, take copies of documents, ask for documents to be explained, and require electronic documents to be provided in a format they can take away, such as a hard copy.
Officers cannot require the production of legally confidential documents, such as communications between a lawyer and their client.
Seizing and retaining documents and accessing devices
If they reasonably suspect that the documents may be required as evidence in proceedings for a breach or offence, council officers can seize and detain them. Officers must take reasonable steps to tell the person they are taking them from and must provide a written record of what has been taken. Documents can usually be kept for three months from the date they were seized, unless they are still needed for legal proceedings.
An officer can require someone to access information on electronic devices on the premises or access the device themselves if necessary.
Access to seized documents
An agent can ask to access, copy, or photograph a document seized from their premises, and the council must provide supervised access or provide a copy within a reasonable time, unless doing so would undermine the reason the document was seized.
A person with an interest in seized documents can also ask the magistrates’ court to release them after six months if the investigation has not resulted in court proceedings, or where court proceedings have finished.
