Section 40 provides that a local housing authority may impose a financial penalty on a person if, on the balance of probabilities, it is satisfied that there has been a breach of a rental discrimination measure in Chapter 3 (Prohibition of discrimination relating to children and benefit status).
	Subsection (2) describes the circumstances in which more than one financial penalty may be imposed by the local housing authority for the same conduct, namely if the conduct continues 28 days after either the final notice for the previous penalty was received or any appeal against the local housing authority’s decision was determined, withdrawn, or abandoned. A local housing authority may impose an additional penalty if a fine under the same section was previously issued within the preceding five years (subsection (4)).
	Subsection (3) provides that a single discriminatory provision, criterion or practice applied multiple times in relation to the same property constitutes the same conduct. Multiple persons may be found jointly and severally liable for the same offence, as under subsection (7).
	Subsection (5) sets out the maximum fine amount, which will be £7,000.
	Subsection (6) states that subsections (2) and (4) do not allow a penalty to be imposed for an offence if a final notice has already been withdrawn or quashed on appeal.
	Subsections (8) and (9) give the Secretary of State power to produce guidance which local housing authorities must have regard to when exercising their functions in relation to financial penalties.
	Subsection (10) confers upon the Secretary of State the power to amend the maximum financial penalties as set out in subsection (5) to reflect inflation. The regulations are subject to the negative resolution procedure.
Part 1: Tenancy reform Chapter 3: Discrimination in the rental market: England Section 40: Financial penalties for breach of anti-discrimination provisions Effect