Witness Statements in Housing Enforcement - What They Are and How They Work
Updated October 2026
We're all familiar with the concept of a witness statement, but what are the ins and outs of exactly what one is for, and how do they work? In housing enforcement, whether that's a First-tier Tribunal appeal against a civil penalty, a Rent Repayment Order application, a prosecution for operating an unlicensed HMO, or a HHSRS enforcement case, the witness statement is often the single most important document in the file. This article explains what a witness statement is, when and why you'd use one, and the practical rules for writing a good one.
Why witness statements matter more than ever
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has significantly raised the stakes in housing enforcement. Civil penalties for licensing and HHSRS offences now run up to £40,000 per offence. The Rent Repayment Order window has doubled from 12 to 24 months. The new section 6A offence under the Housing Act 2004 carries a £7,000 penalty for failing to comply with an improvement notice action. Behind every one of those penalties is evidence, and behind the evidence are witness statements. A well-written statement is often the difference between a successful prosecution or appeal and one that falls apart on contested facts.
What is a witness statement?
A witness statement is a written, signed account of what a witness saw, heard, said or did, which can be admissible in evidence in place of the witness giving oral testimony. It's treated as the witness's evidence in chief.
In housing enforcement, witness statements are used by:
Local authority officers prosecuting unlicensed HMOs, breaches of management regulations, or HHSRS enforcement.
Landlords appealing civil penalties to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
Tenants making Rent Repayment Order applications.
Expert witnesses giving professional opinion on housing conditions, licensing status or management failures.
Supporting witnesses: neighbours, former tenants, letting agents, contractors.
How should a witness statement start?
The opening follows a standard form:
I [NAME] of [ADDRESS] am [STATE WHO YOU ARE]. The facts in this statement come from my personal knowledge.
If you're giving expert evidence, for example, as a professional housing consultant, the opening should also set out your qualifications, experience and the basis on which you've been instructed.
Witness statement versus giving evidence in court
Although the circumstances of making a written statement are very different from giving evidence in court, the evidence is still on oath. The maker signs a statement of truth acknowledging that they understand they can be prosecuted if they say anything in the statement they know to be false or do not honestly believe to be true. In practice, the written statement will usually be the first thing the court or tribunal reads about your evidence. If you're later called to give oral evidence, you'll be cross-examined on what's in your statement, so what you write has to be something you can stand over under questioning.
What are witness statements for?
Capturing the witness's recollection of what happened before memory fades. It's assumed what the witness records is true and accurate, and reliance can be placed on it.
Providing the witness with a reliable source to refer back to if additional information is asked of them.
Refreshing memory if and when the case comes to trial, often many months, sometimes years, after the events in question.
Telling both prosecution and defence what the witness will say if called to give evidence.
Where the evidence is uncontentious, standing in place of the witness at the hearing.
When should a witness statement be created?
Immediately, or as soon as possible after the event.
The longer you leave it, the more detail gets lost. Dates become fuzzy. The exact words someone used become paraphrases. The order of events gets muddled. In contested cases, any gap or inconsistency will be exploited by the other side.
Local authority officers often use PACE notebooks (bound, numbered notebooks) to record events contemporaneously as they happen. Those notes can then be relied on when writing up the formal statement. For landlords, agents and tenants, keeping a simple contemporaneous diary, dated and signed, can serve the same purpose.
Is there a limit to how many witness statements can be provided by one person?
No. In fact, capturing evidence in a series of witness statements as an investigation or case develops is usually better than producing one long, compendious statement at the end. Each statement can deal with a particular stage of events, and later statements can exhibit documents or respond to points raised by the other side.
What should I include?
Know what you need to say, have a clear picture of the facts you can speak to.
Know what you can't say, identify any essential evidence that another witness needs to cover.
Know what exhibits you need to produce, photos, documents, emails, invoices, floor plans, and reference each one properly in the statement.
Write chronologically. Dates and times anchor a statement; the tribunal or court needs to be able to follow events in order.
Stick to facts. Facts. Facts. Opinion belongs in an expert report, not a factual witness statement.
Keep the language simple and user-friendly. Avoid specialist terminology or jargon that would need defining to a layperson.
Write your own witness statement. You'll be the one giving evidence based on it, not your colleagues, not your legal adviser.
Exhibits - getting them right
Any document you refer to in a witness statement should be exhibited. The convention is to use the maker's initials followed by a sequential number so photos exhibited to a statement by Jane Smith would be exhibits JS1, JS2, JS3 and so on. Each exhibit should be referred to in the body of the statement at the point it becomes relevant, for example, "On 14 March 2026 I visited the property and took the photographs shown at exhibit JS1." Keep exhibits in a logical order and make sure they are clearly labelled with the statement they relate to.
Ending a witness statement
The statement ends with a statement of truth, in the standard form:
"I believe the facts stated in this witness statement are true."
Then sign and date it.
Signing a statement of truth is not a formality. Making a false statement of truth is a contempt of court and, in the most serious cases, can lead to prosecution.
Common pitfalls to avoid
Drifting into opinion or argument. Save that for submissions and expert reports.
Gaps in the chronology. If there's a period you can't account for, say so, don't ignore it.
Second-hand information presented as first-hand. If someone else told you something, say that, don't present it as something you saw yourself.
Exaggeration. Overstating the position almost always comes back in cross-examination.
Legal terminology you don't understand. If you can't explain what a term means, don't use it.
Signing a statement someone else has drafted without reading it carefully. If you sign it, you own it.
