Sheffield City Council's Private Housing Standards Service

Sheffield City Council’s Private Housing Standards team works with tenants, landlords and letting agents across the city to improve standards in the private rented sector.

Around one in five homes in Sheffield are privately rented (18.7%), making it a significant and growing part of the city’s housing stock. This means it is increasingly important that homes are safe, well managed and offer a good standard of accommodation.

We deal with a wide range of issues, including investigating complaints about housing conditions, inspecting properties, and taking enforcement action where needed. We support tenants with concerns such as damp, mould and disrepair, and work with landlords to help them meet their responsibilities. We also provide a Tenancy Relations service, investigating illegal eviction and harassment and taking action to protect tenants.

We manage licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) across the city and ensure shared homes are safe and properly managed.

We also offer advice and guidance to landlords and agents, promote good practice, and take action against poor management and rogue landlords. We run the student landlord Snug registration scheme in partnership with Sheffield’s universities and the Students’ Union, recognising student landlords who meet higher standards.

A number of useful documents and links are available on this site, this covers important information such as recent changes to the law brought in by the Renters’ Rights Act, application forms, privacy notices, landlord newsletter and referrals.

If you have concerns about a privately rented property, or would like advice or support, please contact us. We also welcome feedback on how our service can be improved.