The new mayor of London has pledged to get tough on rogue landlords in the capital by introducing a ‘London Landlord Watchlist’ with a view to coming down on those who take advantage of tenants “like a ton of bricks”.
His policy, which has proved popular with many of London’s near 2 million renters, will see a public City Hall database created allowing tenants to check out landlords before moving into a property, as well as “name and shame” the worst ones, including those landlords who have repeatedly broken the law.
Offences that could see landlords featured on the watchlist include unlawful eviction of tenants, failure to comply with an overcrowding notice, and harassment.
Housing was one of the key issues of the London mayor election campaign, with a recent survey of 2,062 adults carried out by ComRes revealing that it was the number one concern for Londoners ahead of the London mayoral election.
Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker, commented: “The emphasis on housing from all the candidates is not unexpected, with the lack of affordability one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of London.”
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