Landlord fees rocket in council’s first year in charge of the scheme
A council in charge of landlord registration in Northern Ireland has reported a huge rise in cash collected in its first year as gatekeepers to the scheme.
A newly released financial document shows fee collections have rocketed to £728,860 from the previous year’s £45,590.
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council has now managed the registration of landlords for all 11 local authorities for its first full year following transfer of the scheme from Department for Communities (DfC) in March 2025.
A council officer said: “It is a statutory requirement for all landlords operating in the private sector to register.
“There is a yearly return now made to DfC.”
The move to tighten control of rented accommodation in NI comes in the wake of Awaab’s Law in England for social housing, which came about after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died from mould exposure at his Rochdale home in 2020.
Since April of 2023, NI councils have been able to fine private landlords £500 if they are found to be exploiting their tenants, on a range of issues including tenancy deposits, receipts, and notice to quit a tenancy.
However, local authorities have not been able to impose a fixed penalty for persistent mould despite it causing breathing issues and chest infections for residents.
A DfC consultation is currently underway on proposed amendments to landlord registration which looks to give Lisburn and Castlereagh the keys to the job on an official and permanent basis.
The consultation includes a requirement for accommodation to be fit for human habitation.
The council paper shows just under 90,000 properties were registered (April 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026) and a sum of £728,860 in fees received. The total expenditure in the period was £406,363.
This is an uplift of some 16 times the amount from the previous year with the report showing (figures take April 1, 2025) 91,541 properties registered with £45,590 in fees received. The total expenditure was £42,355. Registration costs £70 and is valid for three years.
DfC has identified 130,000 households living in privately rented accommodation in Northern Ireland.
The Stormont consultation on the amendments to the scheme will aim to bring about better property standards for private renters and hold landlords to account.