A West London council has issued £34,000 in civil fines to rogue landlords since April but data shows only one was prosecuted through the courts in recent years.
Kensington and Chelsea Council said it has also handed out 14 notices of intent to serve civil penalties and has introduced a new licensing scheme for larger house shares.
It comes as research shows Kensington and Chelsea Council prosecuted the fewest cases against rogue landlords in the capital. Data by Public Interest Lawyers found between April 2019 and March 2024 the council received 4,170 complaints but only brought forward one prosecution.
It is understood the high level of complaints is partially the result of the council’s private sector housing team responding to issues with housing association stock. The council claims many other London boroughs do not offer this service through their environmental health teams.
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request sent by Public Interest Lawyers found complaints peaked during the 2020/21 financial year to 929 before dropping to 889 the following year and 109 in the most recent complete financial year (2023/24).
The sole prosecution took place in 2022/23 centred on failing to comply with an improvement notice, running an unlicensed House of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and failing to comply with management regulations. Kensington and Chelsea Council said this case is currently being appealed.
Of the 24 London councils to respond to Public Interest Lawyers’ survey, 16 said they had pursued fewer than 10 landlords in five years. Even councils with high figures have seen the number of prosecutions drop.
Camden Council saw through 74 cases in 2019/20, leading to £336,450 in fines. In 2023/24, this dropped to £1,404 from just four cases.
Barking and Dagenham Council stated that they prosecuted 136 landlords, the highest figure in London, but did not confirm if all cases were court prosecutions.
Camden followed with 104, and Enfield Council undertook 62 prosecutions. Kensington and Chelsea Council joined Wandsworth, Bexley and Richmond upon Thames to prosecute just one case.
Meanwhile, Westminster City Council received 5,934 complaints and carried out five prosecutions. The data shows complaints also peaked in 2020/21 with 1,478 being lodged. In 2023/24, that figure was 819.
All five prosecutions took place during the 2022/23 financial year and all centre around failing to apply for an HMO licence.
The council said in an FoI that except in the most serious of cases, civil penalties are issued as an alternative to prosecution. It said 84 financial penalties were issued over the past five years for failing to licence properties, failing to comply with improvement notices and failing to provide electrical safety certificates.
Jae Vail, a spokesperson for the London Renters’ Union, said: “Tenants face an epidemic of hazardous housing in this country, but when we report safety concerns to our local authorities, our complaints often go ignored.
“Many councils lack both the resources and the political will to hold landlords accountable. The government must ensure local authorities have everything they need to side with renters and enforce our basic rights.
“Renters also need the legal right to pause rent payments in cases of serious disrepair so that we have more control over our own homes and don’t have to…depend solely on councils, many of which have failed us in the past.”
Some councils have argued that civil penalties, as well as formal warnings, have been sufficient in maintaining landlord compliance.
However, the National Residential Landlords Association learned earlier this year that less than half of the fines issued against rogue landlords between 2021 and 2023 had been collected.
Beverley Faulkner, Housing Disrepair Specialist at legal firm JF Law, said: “All renters deserve to feel safe and secure in the property they pay to live in. Unfortunately, that does not always happen.
The local authority being unable or unwilling to take action against a landlord could leave a renter feeling like justice has not been done.”
Beau Stanford-Francis, Executive Director for Environment and Neighbourhoods at Kensington and Chelsea Council, said making homes safer was a priority for the local authority. He also said the council looks into every complaint it receives about private landlords.
He said: “Most landlords want to do the right thing and the vast majority of the time we are able to resolve complaints and improve standards for the tenant by working with the landlord to fix issues in the property. This is best for everyone as the tenant can then stay in their home, with improved conditions.
“Prosecution is a last resort, however we will not hesitate to enforce where necessary. Since April 2024, we have issued six civil penalties to landlords with fines of £34,000 and 14 notices of intent to serve civil penalties – these act as a final warning.
“Last year we introduced a new licensing scheme for larger house shares. This has led to 674 properties being licensed, with 562 inspections maintaining decent standards of living for people in houses of multiple occupation.”
The council said it had just hosted its first forum for private sector landlords. Across the 252 councils that responded to Public Interest Lawyers’ request for information, 438,523 complaints or ‘service requests’ regarding housing conditions or landlord behaviour were recorded across five years.
Some 91,590 of those complaints (21%) came from London boroughs. Ealing Council had the most complaints in 2023/24, hearing from concerned residents 2,273 times. They were followed by Redbridge (1,995), Croydon (1,409) and Waltham Forest (1,102).
Westminster City Council was contacted for comment.
