London’s councils hit landlords with record fines

London’s councils hit landlords with record fines

0:04 AM, 10th April 2024, About 8 months ago 3

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Councils in London are tightening their grip on landlords and letting agents who fail to comply with selective licensing rules as fines have already broken through the £10 million barrier this year, research reveals.

This surge comes alongside a predicted record number of new licensing schemes aimed at improving tenant rights and housing standards.

A report by prop-tech firm Kamma reveals that 2024 is set to outpace 2023’s record of 32 new licensing schemes.

This year has seen 19 schemes and consultations launching across the UK – that’s nearly a third higher than this time last year – with London boroughs leading the charge.

‘Surge in fines and licensing measures across London’

The firm’s chief executive, Orla Shields, said: “The surge in fines and licensing measures across London are clear indicators of the growing seriousness with which regulatory compliance is being treated.

“This year’s record-breaking figures represent a strong stance against non-compliance for agents and landlords in London.”

Kamma says that this month alone see the councils in Brent, Tower Hamlets and Redbridge implementing additional measures to tackle private rented sector (PRS) issues.

It tracks fines through the Mayor of London’s database to monitor enforcement efforts.

Landlords hit with more than £1.2 million in penalties

The firm says that Tower Hamlets stands out with landlords being hit with more than £1.2 million in rent repayment orders and financial fines because they had unlicensed properties.

And Redbridge’s enforcement efforts against landlords have seen it serve 3,000 notices and pursue 76 prosecutions under its previous scheme.

Camden remains the borough with the highest fines, however, and recently imposed a hefty £350,000 penalty on a lettings agency for non-compliance with a planning enforcement notice.


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MPD

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9:51 AM, 10th April 2024, About 7 months ago

Tenants will ultimately pay for all of this

Mr Blueberry

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17:04 PM, 10th April 2024, About 7 months ago

On the one hand, it appears appropriate to enhance the standards of housing. However, only time will tell if the introduction of licensing schemes and fines will increase the availability of rental properties for tenants or if the additional licencing/taxes imposed will become a tipping point, causing many landlords to sell their properties and invest elsewhere. If such a situation arises, it will create more pressure on councils to provide more homes, which will strain their finances. The government has stated that building 30,000 new homes per year is the most they can afford, which is only a tenth of the number they promised a few years ago. Also, it seems strange that 2M rentable council homes were sold by the government, leaving them forty-seven billion pounds, very little of which went back into housing projects.

moneymanager

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10:03 AM, 11th April 2024, About 7 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Mr Blueberry at 10/04/2024 - 17:04
That fourth seven billion was wasted on weaponry given to Zelensky to create more refugees, it's a laundromat for private and state wealth.

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