There were 580 prosecutions of private landlords and letting agents in London in the three years to the end of March, new research has revealed.

The lion’s share of prosecutions – 359 – were brought by the London borough of Newham, according to figures from housing consultancy London Property Licensing.

Most of the prosecutions were of landlords, but some were of agents. In Newham, one case involved the prosecution of both agent and landlord, with fines of almost £40,000 for a string of housing offences involving a dilapidated and unsanitary property.

The research findings are based on freedom of information responses received from all 33 London councils between December 2014 and April 2015.

All prosecutions were brought under the Housing Act 2004 and covered a wide range of offences including:

• Failing to comply with an Improvement Notice requiring the landlord to resolve serious hazards in the property;
• Failing to comply with a Prohibition Order which stops a landlord from renting out a property due to serious hazards;
• Failing to properly manage a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO);
• Failing to obtain a licence to rent out the property (HMO, additional or selective licensing); and
• Failing to comply with licence conditions or exceeding the occupancy limit on a licence.

The five London boroughs taking the most prosecutions were:

1. Newham   359
2. Haringey    57
3. Camden     20
4. Redbridge  19
5. Southwark  15

Housing enforcement action in Newham has been dramatically stepped up following the implementation of borough-wide selective and additional licensing in January 2013.

Under the licensing scheme, every private rented property in Newham needs to be licensed before it can be rented out. The number of housing prosecutions in Newham Council far exceeds all other London boroughs put together.

Whilst some councils excel at their enforcement activity, there are eight London councils languishing at the bottom of the league table, having taken no Housing Act 2004 prosecutions over this three-year period: Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, Brent, City of London, Enfield, Havering, Merton and Richmond-upon-Thames.

Whilst the lack of prosecutions may reflect areas with a higher compliance rate and an absence of poor-quality rented housing, it may also highlight councils that could do more to tackle the very worst landlords.

Richard Tacagni, managing director at London Property Licensing, said: “This latest research should act as a wake-up call to landlords who try to evade their legal responsibilities and place tenants’ lives at risk.

“Councils are cracking down on this unacceptable behaviour. Whilst the vast majority of landlords take their responsibilities seriously, those looking to make a quick profit at the expense of their tenants’ health and safety need to think again.

“Some of the councils currently at the bottom of the enforcement league table are also starting to up their game.

“For example, Brent Council has undertaken several prosecutions in recent months. The challenge is now on for all councils to take effective enforcement action where it is needed and justified, whilst working in partnership with good, responsible landlords.”

In March 2015, there was a change in the law lifting the financial cap on future housing prosecutions. Following a successful prosecution, the Courts can now award an unlimited fine for many housing offences and this is likely to result in higher fines being awarded in the future.

www.londonpropertylicensing.co.uk is highly recommended by Eye, as an essential new information resource for landlords and managing agents. Although the website provides information specifically about the various property licensing schemes across London, we think that it would be useful to agents and landlords elsewhere.