Rogue London landlords who have failed to comply with selective licensing schemes have paid £900,000 in fines so far this year as more councils step up their tactics to enforce regulations.
It brings the total value of licensing fines in London to £1m since proptech firm Kamma began tracking the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlord Database in 2018.
To clamp down on rogue landlords and agents, councils nationwide are adopting more sophisticated strategies, according to the firm’s report, Red Tape Revolution: The Next Wave of Licensing Enforcement.
Targeting tenants
Oxford Council’s outreach campaign, for example, targets tenants to raise awareness of licensing regulations.
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The council urged tenants to find out if their landlord had a licence. As a result of the campaign, 44 tenants living in unlicensed accommodation secured a landmark compensation payout of £85,000.
Adopting a different approach, Wolverhampton Council has spent £2.5m on outsourcing its licensing enforcement to private contractors.
Waltham Forest tops table
The most effective councils are inspecting upwards of 8,000 properties over the course of a licensing scheme, according to the report.
Waltham Forest Council ranked top as Kamma’s best performing council, having inspected 8,011 properties over the course of its last licensing scheme. The council secured 195 prosecutions and 233 civil penalties, and 1,680 properties were improved as a result.
The Renters’ Rights Bill also promises to extend fine-tracking nationwide, which will paint a more comprehensive picture of landlord compliance across the country.
If passed, the bill is slated to increase the duration of rent repayment orders from 12 months to 24 months, doubling the financial risk for landlords who fail to comply with local licensing regimes.
Councils are also shining a spotlight on house of multiple occupation (HMO) licences, according to TWM Solicitors.
Partner and head of lending Julian Sampson noted that, over the last 15 months, the firm had seen “a marked increase” in the way that councils were “aggressively” licensing, policing and enforcing conditions of licences in certain areas.
Chris Morgan (pictured), chief operating officer of Kamma, said: “The steep rise in fines and the introduction of new licensing schemes are clear signals that many councils are replacing box ticking compliance with an aggressive multi-route approach.
“This year alone, proactive councils have stepped up their efforts to identify and sanction unlicensed properties. As our latest report shows, top-performing councils are inspecting thousands of properties as part of their licensing regimes, setting a high standard for enforcement.”
