The total fines for rogue landlords and agents in London boroughs (since 2017) is this October nearing a whopping £7 million as councils continue to prioritise licensing enforcement. This month the government also announced the winners of their energy efficiency enforcement grant to help councils raise awareness and enforce regulations – ultimately banning landlords from renting homes with the worst performing energy efficiency ratings. So we are likely to see more councils prioritising not only licensing enforcement, but energy efficiency regulation in the coming months.
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October’s Top Rogue Landlord stories
Landlord couple fined almost £200,000 for not disclosing properties as HMOs
A landlord couple in Waltham Forest Council (London), has been fined £190,000 for failing to disclose six of their properties as HMOs and failing to obtain the correct licences for those properties. Which in turn meant that they were not charged HMO licence fees and the hoes were not inspected by the council.
The couple faced trial in April this year where the husband was fined £126,500 and his wife £60,500. The couple owned over 600 properties in East London through 28 companies, but as a result of this case has sold their portfolio of properties.
London landlord fined another £33,000 for failing to apply for the correct licence
A landlord has been fined £33,000 for failing to apply for the correct HMO licence and carry out legal safety measures. The landlord had previously been fined over £20,000 in 2019 for issuing false licences and is now faced with an additional £11,530 fine and another £21,750 from his company. So over the course of two years he has had to pay £55,000 in fines!
Martin Whelton, Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and the Climate Emergency, commented: “Merton will continue to aggressively pursue such cases through the courts and take tough action against landlords who wilfully flout the law. I would like to thank our housing enforcement and legal teams for all their hard work in this and other cases.”
East London council claims victory as local landlords receive fines totalling over £361,000 over the past 3 years
Tower Hamlets Council has brought 57 prosecutions since starting a licensing scheme in 2018, following a campaign by renters. Around 13 landlords have received criminal cautions and civil penalties adding up to almost £77,000 relating to overcrowding and disrepairs. Letting agents in the area have also been faced with around £255,000 for offences relating to false advertising since 2018.
The East London licensing scheme covers Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green. Councillor Danny Hassell said “We take action against landlords who don’t follow the rules. We want to make sure renters can live in decent homes.”
