Brent Council in Greater London says that court fines paid by criminal landlords in Brent have crossed the half-a-million pound mark.
The £500,000 figure – which rogue landlords have been forced to pay out since January 2016 – demonstrates the success of a zero-tolerance approach, said the council.
Brent Council ramped up its enforcement activity on rogue landlords at the start of 2016, with an average of two to five prosecutions now taking place in Brent every month.
A total of 44 prosecutions in 2016-2017 led to 89 convictions relating to landlord licensing and housing management charges.
Head of Private Housing Services in Brent, Spencer Randolph, said:
“The half-a-million pound landmark sends a clear message to landlords in Brent: if you don't have the correct licence, you will face hefty fines and a criminal record in court.
“We are especially targeting our enforcement activity on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) – so if you're a landlord letting a property to three or more people and they are not all related, you need to get the property licensed quickly before you feel the full force of the law.
“Our aim is to improve the living standards for tenants in Brent who are renting private accommodation – and this means taking a zero-tolerance approach to rogue landlords who ignore the laws.
“No renter in Brent should be forced to put up with cramped, hazardous and unhygienic conditions – residents who report their landlords can do so anonymously.”
Brent also passed the £100,000 threshold in recovered legal costs following a successful prosecution on 23 May 2017 against four rogue landlords managing a property in Napier Road.
The District Judge at Willesden Magistrates’ Court ordered Harsha, Chandani and Sanjay Shah, along with Jaydipkumar Valand, to pay a combined total of £35,000 in legal costs, after they were found guilty of licensing breaches.
Around 12 four raids are carried out by the council's enforcement team in Brent every week, averaging more than 600 raids a year.
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