13th
Dec 2022
A PropTech firm claims landlords have been hammered with record number of fines as more and more councils jump on the bandwagon of introducing new licensing schemes.
The firm checks all council licensing schemes and found that during 2022 52 new schemes and consultations were launched.
This is 10 more than in 2020 and five more than 2021, which the firm says is “the growing trend of yet more regulation targeting the Private Rented Sector” and of course enforcement levels are on the increase.
This year the fines for rogue landlords and lettings agents monthly average stood at £90,000.
More than 20 per cent of all fines were handed out in London over the last twelve months
August was the month that came out tops for dishing out fines with a total value of more than £238,000.
The average letting agents’ fines has risen this year to £4,695 which is £200 more than 2021’s average.
The majority of fines handed out to landlords and lettings agents – 78 per cent – are due to licensing of houses and HMOs and management issues, which of course goes hand in hand with the rapid increase of licensing schemes and enforcements across the capital.
Camden council is the top authority for enforcement in numbers of cases, with runners up Newham and Waltham Forest.
However the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham chose quality rather than quantity as the average fine is £19,800 and is the highest across London, Hillingdon comes second with £13,500 and then Hackney at £11,250.
Chief executive Orla Shields of the PropTech firm, says: “2022 has been another record year for licensing and fines handed out, with total fines now exceeding £8.1m in London alone.
“At the same time, average agent fines have increased by over £200 just in the last year, with the upward trend continuing into 2023.”
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