Fines for landlords and lettings in London topped £8m over the last 12 months, rising by £1.5m, as councils enforced stricter regulations in the wake of the pandemic.
Total fines in the private rented sector in Greater London lifted 23% from £6.5m from last August to the start of this month, says data group Kamma after analysis of the Mayor of London’s Rogue London and Agent Checker.
It adds there was a £238,000 rise in fines in the last month alone.
The data firm says: “A post-pandemic return to enforcement action is one explanation for the increase, with around 20% of all fines on record occurring in the last 12 months.
“A greater number of licensing schemes, creating more opportunity for agents and landlords to fall foul of complex regulations, is also a driver, with 13 new schemes launching in the Greater London area, and 30 in the UK, in the last year.”
It adds that councils are also targeting other avenues of enforcement, with rent repayment orders and minimum energy efficiency standard regulations both seeing increased reporting in recent months.
The firm says that alongside greater enforcement, agents are also being fined larger amounts. Last August the average fine for letting agents was £4,380, but a year later that average fine has increased 7% to £4,690. Landlords, by contrast, are fined more frequently but for smaller amounts, with an average fine size of £4,304.
Camden council tops the enforcement league table as the most active in terms of the number of fines, followed closely by Newham and Southwark, reports the group.
However, Hammersmith and Fulham is the London borough with the highest average fines of £19,800 per offence, followed by Hillingdon with an average of £13,500, and Hackney with £11,250.
Kamma chief executive Orla Shields says: “Local councils are sending a strong message to landlords and agents across the country with fines increasing by almost £2m in 12 months. Agents need to see this as an opportunity to take control of their compliance and take action to protect their clients, and themselves against further enforcement efforts and fines”.
