A Labour council is warning landlords to get licensing or face hefty fines or prosecution. Brent council in north London says it...
Archive
17 July 2024
From: Breaking News
![A Warning to All Landlords Over Selective Licensing Schemes](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing-400x310.png)
The recent unveiling by several London councils of selective licensing schemes should raise concerns among private sector landlords - especially 'amateur'...
29 June 2024
From: Legislation & Compliance
![Rents Still Rising in Double Digits in parts of UK - agency figures](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Property-Value_400x310.png)
Landlords in London are benefitting from double digit increases in rents, outdoing every other region of Great Britain. London rents increased by...
21 May 2024
From: Breaking News
![Fines for non-compliant landlords skyrocket as councils cash in](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Fine-3-400x310.png)
Fines for rogue landlords and agents in London have surged past the £10 million mark. With 19 council licensing schemes and...
10 April 2024
From: Breaking News
![Labour council celebrates leading role in clampdown on landlords](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/HouseInspection_400x310.png)
A Labour council in London has issued a statement appearing to celebrate its role cracking down on landlords. The statement from Brent...
03 April 2024
From: Breaking News
![Landlord hit with big fine after ignoring improvement notice](/upload/images/shutterstock_1606552366.jpg)
A landlord has been slammed with £9,000 in fines and costs for ignoring notices to improve his property. Following reports of disrepair...
27 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Tougher Eviction Rules for social tenants - three strikes and you’re out!](/upload/images/Legal%20advice(4).jpg)
The government may be keen on scrapping Section 21 powers for private landlords but it’s getting much tougher on social housing...
31 January 2024
From: Breaking News
![Higher rents mean first time buyers compromise on size - claim](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Help%20to%20buy%20equity%20loan.jpg)
Escalating rents have led many first time buyers to adjust their property expectations and accept smaller homes when they purchase, a...
03 January 2024
From: Breaking News
![Landlord hit with half million pound fine after using fake name](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Fine-3-400x310.png)
A landlord who used a fake name to evade detection has been hit with £485,000 in fines after illegally renting out...
11 December 2023
From: Breaking News
![Gove gives go-ahead to one of UK’s largest licensing schemes](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing1-400x310.png)
Almost all landlords letting out properties in a London borough will soon be legally required to have a selective license. It’s one...
07 December 2023
From: Breaking News
![London council launches selective licensing regime](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing-400x310.png)
Brent council in North London has launched a new selective licensing regime across part of the borough. Landlords who let properties in the...
19 September 2023
From: Breaking News
![Landlord Banning Orders not used because of council cuts - claim](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/HouseInspection_400x310.png)
A website claims that Banning Orders on private landlords have not been served because of local government funding shortfalls. Open Democracy says...
24 August 2023
From: Breaking News
![Landlord who crammed 40 people into house is banned](/upload/images/shutterstock_423625090(1).jpg)
A criminal businessman has been given a London council’s first ever landlord banning order. Property dealer Jaydipkumar Rameshchandra Valand, who lives in...
17 August 2023
From: Breaking News
![Council pays landlord fees and rent in bid to avert S21 eviction](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Eviction-400x310%20(1).png)
Labour controlled Brent council in London has taken the possibly-unique step of paying a landlord’s legal fees and rent to avert...
27 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![Tough for Renters - Agent’s Insight Into London Market](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Property%20Budget.jpg)
The latest research by London lettings agency Benham and Reeves has revealed the uphill struggle facing those in search of a...
22 July 2023
From: Agent Advice
![Council pockets £640 per landlord licence from next month](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/HousePrices_pound-400x310.png)
A new law requiring landlords in three wards of the London borough of Brent to pay for a selective licence will...
14 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![Landlords hit with record licensing fines says PropTech firm](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Fine-3-400x310.png)
London landlords and letting agents have so far been hit with more than £900,000 in fines in the first half of...
10 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![Activists launch winter campaign of action against landlords](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/AgentHouseInHand_400x310.png)
A group of rental activists in London claims that over 10,000 private rented homes in the borough of Brent have a...
14 June 2023
From: Breaking News
![Approaching 100 court cases hit by bailiffs halting work](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Court-UK-400x310.png)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service has halted the work of bailiffs on safety grounds. An incident is under investigation, and it’s believed...
14 June 2023
From: Breaking News
![Dawn raid on rogue landlord HMO after residents’ tip off](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/LegalAdvice-400x310.png)
Council enforcement officers found 11 people crammed inside a three-bed semi in London following a tip-off from eagled-eyed residents. Brent council officers...
24 May 2023
From: Breaking News
![Generation Rent says tenants afraid to report damp and mould](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Estate-Agent-400x310.png)
Activist group Generation Rent is demanding that the government tighten regulations on damp and mould - and is tying this to...
15 March 2023
From: Breaking News
![Licensing - Raising Standards or Just Raising Revenue?](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/PropertyFinancing-400x310.png)
Local authorities exist to improve housing stock in their area; however, licensing is not the best way to improve standards across...
04 March 2023
From: Legislation & Compliance
![Planning consent now needed for new HMOs in part of London](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Buy-to-let-3-400x310.png)
HMOs in the London borough of Brent must now win planning consent and meet a new set of criteria to ensure...
17 November 2022
From: Breaking News
![London consultation on additional licensing scheme](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing1-400x310.png)
A borough-wide consultation on landlord licensing for privately rented properties in Brent is taking place for the next 12 weeks. The online...
02 November 2022
From: Breaking News
![Warning to landlords offering ‘bills included’ rental properties](/upload/images/library/UtilitiesBills-WideInArticle.jpg)
A lettings agency says demand for ‘bills included’ properties in London has rocketed since April - despite it costing tenants large...
21 September 2022
From: Breaking News
![The True Costs of Being A Landlord In 2022](/upload/images/library/HousingMarket2020-400x310.jpg)
Covid-19 has undoubtedly shifted the way new landlords will be looking to invest in 2022, and our ranking makes it clear...
22 January 2022
From: Tax & Finance
![Record fine issued to London landlord over planning offence](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Fined400x310.jpg)
A landlord who built extensions and converted them into flats and bedsits all without planning permission has been given a record...
24 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Rents for homes next to shopping centres may reduce - not rise](/upload/images/library/Crowd-ShoppingCentre-400x310.jpg)
The popular belief that homes in close proximity to shops inevitably pushes up the rent is being challenged by new research. The...
19 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Huge fine for landlord with unlicensed and overcrowded property](/upload/images/library/CrowdedHouse-400x310.png)
A private landlord operating an unlicensed and overcrowded property in London has been hit with a fine of more than £21,000. Brent...
12 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Five figure fine for landlord ignoring council warning on overcrowding](/upload/images/library/CourtCase-400x310.png)
A private landlord operating an unlicensed and overcrowded property in London has been hit with a fine of more than £21,000. The...
02 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![He Can’t Get No Satisfaction - Stones promoter must repay tenants](/img/default/llt.png)
A one-time promoter of The Rolling Stones was so busy on the road that he forgot to get an HMO licence...
21 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![Tory Lord promotes campaign for pets to be allowed in private lets](/img/default/llt.png)
Conservative Peer Lord Black of Brentwood - Guy Black, a former newspaper magnate and Conservative activist - has urged the government...
16 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Councils accused by activists over rental licensing and safety](/img/default/llt.png)
There are now 10 councils with licensing schemes covering more than 20 per cent of the rental market according to activists’...
30 April 2021
From: Breaking News
![Sub-letting prompts court action against rogue tenant](/img/default/llt.png)
A tenant who sub-let a property by falsely claiming to be its owner has been given a criminal record. Sonia Nascimento rented...
12 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![Landlord ordered to repay almost £750,000 in “illicit earnings”](/img/default/llt.png)
A Crown Court judge has ordered a landlord to pay back almost £750,000 in illicit earnings made from overcrowded properties in...
02 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![Jaw-dropping £500m spend on London Build To Rent by one firm](/img/default/llt.png)
A property development firm says it’s to spend up to £500m in land acquisitions over the next three years, as part...
16 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![New analysis of London's yield and capital growth hotspots](/img/default/llt.png)
An analysis by a lettings management service has identified those parts of London with the strongest yields and capital growth in...
07 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Landlords’ losses to hit £5.7bn by 2024 as rents look set to fall](/img/default/llt.png)
Buy-to-let landlords face having to reduce rents by at least 5% over the next five years as a growing number of...
28 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord ordered to pay £190,000 for renting out illegal flats](/img/default/llt.png)
A buy-to-let landlord has been ordered to pay back a whopping £190,000 after he was caught receiving rental from illegal flats. A...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Brent Council’s application to extend its selective licensing scheme is rejected](/img/default/llt.png)
Brent Council’s application to extend its selective licensing scheme in the north west London ward has been rejected by central government. Brent...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord handed £90k fine for license breaches](/img/default/llt.png)
A buy-to-let landlord has been ordered to pay just over £90,000 for repeatedly ignoring selective licensing laws in north London. Stephen Ige...
04 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Revealed: The areas where house prices have risen the most over the past decade](/img/default/llt.png)
Despite the slowdown in the UK housing market in recent years, caused in part by the Brexit vote which fuelled uncertainty...
20 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Tenants discovered living in cramped conditions during dawn raid](/img/default/llt.png)
Brent Council in north London will be taking action against a buy-to-let landlord who is accused of “exploiting tenants” after 17...
29 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![The best performing parliamentary constituencies for house price growth](/img/default/llt.png)
What has happened to residential property prices since the last general election just two years ago? On a national scale, the...
14 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Brent Council agrees to introduce additional and selective licensing](/img/default/llt.png)
London Borough of Brent has approved the renewal and extension of borough-wide additional licensing for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) for...
30 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Brent and Harrow Trading Standards target rogue letting agents](/img/default/llt.png)
Council officers from Brent and Harrow Trading Standards have pledged to clampdown on unscrupulous letting agents in the London boroughs of...
30 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord slapped with £25k fine for overcrowded property](/img/default/llt.png)
An unscrupulous landlord who housed at least 25 tenants in a rundown property in north-west London has been ordered to pay...
01 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Landlord ordered to pay more than £66k for ‘gross mistreatment’ of tenants](/img/default/llt.png)
A rogue landlord in north London has been ordered to pay more than £66,000 after being found guilty of making tenants'...
27 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord ordered to pay £10,000 for renting out poor quality housing](/img/default/llt.png)
A rogue landlord has been ordered to pay a fine of £10,000 after being convicted for renting out two unlicensed properties...
26 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Tenants found living inside garden shed during dawn raid](/img/default/llt.png)
Brent Council in north London discovered three tenants living inside a shed in the garden of a three-bedroom semi-detached house in...
20 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Have your say on Brent landlord licensing scheme](/img/default/llt.png)
Members of the general public are being offered the opportunity to have their say on Brent’s landlord licensing scheme. Brent Council wants...
12 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord ordered to pay almost £25k for unlicensed HMO](/img/default/llt.png)
An unscrupulous landlord has been told to pay close to £25,000 after being prosecuted for renting out rooms in an unlicensed...
10 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![Britain’s noisiest neighbourhoods unveiled](/img/default/llt.png)
As an income investment, buy-to-let continues to look attractive, especially compared to low savings rates and stock market swings, but when...
25 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![The most uninhabitable London boroughs for tenants unveiled](/img/default/llt.png)
New research has identified London’s most uninhabitable boroughs for the capital’s tenants, based on the cost of living there to the...
11 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Tenants discovered living in cramped conditions following dawn raid](/img/default/llt.png)
Brent Council in north London looks set to take action against a buy-to-let landlord who is accused of “exploiting tenants” after ...
08 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Convicted landlord receives 500K in housing benefit payments despite ban](/img/default/llt.png)
A rogue landlord deemed unfit to rent out property in the north London borough of Brent in 2015 has since received...
22 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord family ordered to pay £250k under Proceeds of Crime Act](/img/default/llt.png)
A family of slum landlords who crammed 31 people into a suburban four-bedroom house has been ordered to pay back almost...
03 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Landlords who disregarded planning rules ordered to pay £322k or face prison](/img/default/llt.png)
Rogue landlords who converted terrace houses into shoebox flats without planning permission have been ordered to re-pay illegal income or face...
17 December 2018
From: Breaking News
![Landlord hit with record £1.5m fine for flouting planning rules](/img/default/llt.png)
A notorious rogue landlord who illegally built a number of tiny bedsits across North West London has been ordered to pay...
06 December 2018
From: Breaking News
![BTL landlords earned £34bn in rental income last year](/img/default/llt.png)
Private landlords across the UK collectively earned £33.8bn from their buy-to-let investments in the year from 5 April 2017 to 2018,...
04 December 2018
From: Breaking News
![More than 20 men found crammed into ‘slum-like’ three-bedroom house](/img/default/llt.png)
More than 20 men were discovered living in cramped conditions in a three-bedroom house in north-west London during a raid by...
28 September 2018
From: Breaking News
![Housing raid finds 15 men living in two-bedroom north London bungalow](/img/default/llt.png)
Brent Council officers discovered 15 men crammed inside a two-bedroom bungalow during an enforcement raid yesterday morning. Tenants were found sleeping on...
24 August 2018
From: Breaking News
![Top 10 buy-to-let hotspots unveiled](/img/default/llt.png)
Buy-to-let has recently taken a bit of a bashing with some landlords forced to exit the market as profits drop amid...
06 August 2018
From: Breaking News
![Tenant ordered to pay more than £26k for subletting ‘death trap’ property](/img/default/llt.png)
A tenant who illegally sublet an unlicensed and poorly-maintained bungalow in north London, which was described by Brent Council as a...
23 July 2018
From: Breaking News
![Brent Council aims to ‘foster good relationships with private landlords’](/img/default/llt.png)
Brent Council insists that it wants to build better relationships with private landlords after successfully winning close to 150 prosecution cases...
25 June 2018
From: Breaking News
![Tenant jailed for illegally subletting house](/img/default/llt.png)
A private tenant occupying a three-bedroom house in north-west London has been jailed after he was caught illegally subletting the property...
22 June 2018
From: Breaking News
![London council extends licensing scheme to five additional wards](/img/default/llt.png)
One of the most active councils in London when it comes to prosecuting rogue landlords and letting agents has now extended...
11 June 2018
From: Breaking News
![All rogue landlords to be ‘named and shamed’ in the capital](/img/default/llt.png)
Criminal landlords across London will be named and shamed on an online database after all London boroughs signed up to a rogue...
23 May 2018
From: Breaking News
![Dawn raid uncovers tenants living in unsafe conditions](/img/default/llt.png)
An ‘unsafe’ house in multiple occupation (HMO) in north London has been uncovered by enforcement officers from Brent Council following a...
17 April 2018
From: Breaking News
![Landlord ordered to pay over £31k for failing to deal with noisy pigeons](/img/default/llt.png)
A landlord in North West London who failed to deal with noisy pigeons nesting at one of its properties has been...
04 April 2018
From: Breaking News
![Spotlight on London: Influencing the Capital’s Expanding HMO market](/img/default/llt.png)
While rental growth may have slowed in London over recent months, the appetite to invest in HMO properties across the capital...
15 March 2018
From: Sponsored Content
![Subletting tenants who crammed 35 men into single house sentenced in court](/img/default/llt.png)
Three tenants who sub-let a three-bedroom semi-detached house in Kingsbury, north-west London, to 35 men have been fined more than 23,000. The residents...
26 February 2018
From: Breaking News
![Government approves new selective licensing schemes](/img/default/llt.png)
Plans to introduce new licensing schemes for privately rented homes across parts of North West London have been given the go-ahead by...
20 February 2018
From: Breaking News
![Landlord fined £7,400 as council secures 125th prosecution against rogue operators](/img/default/llt.png)
A buy-to-let landlord has been ordered to pay £7,400 after failing to obtain a license to rent out a property in...
13 February 2018
From: Breaking News
![Landmark legal decision could see rogue landlords forced to give up all earnings](/img/default/llt.png)
Criminal landlords who crammed up to 40 migrants inside their semi-detached townhouse in north-west London face losing hundreds of thousands of...
02 February 2018
From: Breaking News
![New database leaves rogue landlords with ‘nowhere to hide’](/img/default/llt.png)
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan yesterday launched a new public online database which ‘names and shames’ dodgy landlords and letting...
20 December 2017
From: Breaking News
![Heavy fines for illegal subletters](/img/default/llt.png)
A property firm with assets in the Virgin Islands has paid a £8,000 civil penalty to Brent Council after two tenants...
07 December 2017
From: Breaking News
![‘Earn money in your sleep’ by investing in property, says ex-footballer](/img/default/llt.png)
Football legend turned property magnate Robbie Fowler, estimated to be worth more than £30m, is behind free advice on how to...
16 November 2017
From: Breaking News
![Over 500 landlords attend Brent forum event](/img/default/llt.png)
More than 500 landlords attended Brent Council’s latest Landlord Forum in north London last week where they were given presentations from...
08 November 2017
From: Breaking News
![Landlord threatens to sue council after 35 men were found living in his house](/img/default/llt.png)
The owner of a three-bedroom house in Queensbury, north-west London, where 35 men were living in rooms full of mattresses has threatened to...
22 September 2017
From: Breaking News
![‘We’re coming for you’, council warns rogue landlords after a shock discovery](/img/default/llt.png)
Brent Council has once again vowed to clamp down on rogue landlords in the local area after 35 men we found...
21 September 2017
From: Breaking News
![Landlord fined for cramming vulnerable tenants in unsafe, overcrowded home](/img/default/llt.png)
A landlord has been ordered to pay almost £10,000 after tenants were discovered living in appalling, cramped conditions, as Brent Council...
12 September 2017
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord fined £339k for allowing tenants to live in ‘atrocious conditions’](/img/default/llt.png)
A rogue landlord who rented out squalid flats, which breached council planning laws and failed to meet basic living standards, has...
07 September 2017
From: Breaking News
![Council ‘pressing the government’ to roll out selective licensing scheme](/img/default/llt.png)
Borough wide selective licensing could soon be coming to Brent if the the local council gets its way. Brent Council wants the...
16 August 2017
From: Breaking News
![Licensed homes reduces anti-social behaviour, claims councillor](/img/default/llt.png)
There is a direct correlation between licensed rental properties and a reduction in anti-social behaviour, according to a north London based...
25 July 2017
From: Breaking News
![Tenants found living in crammed conditions following dawn raid](/img/default/llt.png)
No fewer than 16 men were found to be living in a one-bedroom flat filled with bunk beds made out of...
24 July 2017
From: Breaking News
![Brent moves closer to borough-wide landlord licensing regime](/img/default/llt.png)
Most buy-to-let landlords could soon be required to licence their properties in the London borough of Brent if the government agrees...
28 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![Landlords fork out over £500,000 in fines due to council’s ‘zero-tolerance’ approach](/img/default/llt.png)
Landlords renting out properties in the London borough of Brent have been ordered to pay fines totalling more than £500,000 over...
01 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![Criminal landlords to be ‘named and shamed’ in London](/img/default/llt.png)
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has vowed to crackdown on criminal landlords by ensuring that they are ‘named and shamed’...
27 April 2017
From: Breaking News
![Brent Council raise almost £100,000 in landlord fines in just four weeks](/img/default/llt.png)
Four weeks of prosecutions by Brent Council in north London has seen six successful results with total court fines for rogue...
16 February 2017
From: Breaking News
![Company hit with £250,000 confiscation order following ‘blatant disregard for planning rules’](/img/default/llt.png)
A company letting out an illegally converted house in North West London has been ordered to pay £250,000 under the Proceeds...
12 December 2016
From: Breaking News
![Council adopts ‘zero-tolerance approach’ to rogue landlords](/img/default/llt.png)
A private landlord has been fined by Willesden Magistrates Court for poor and potentially dangerous housing conditions following a prosecution by...
05 December 2016
From: Breaking News
![Tenants fined for holding housing enforcement officer against his will](/img/default/llt.png)
Two tenants in Kingsbury, north-west London, have been handed fines totalling £4,500 after being convicted of obstructing a Brent Council housing...
03 October 2016
From: Breaking News
![London’s £2bn rental deposits are simply ‘gathering dust’](/img/default/llt.png)
Dlighted is trying to persuade more landlords and tenants to use its deposit-free renting service by claiming that at least £2bn...
28 September 2016
From: Breaking News
![Knockout blow for landlord Mohammed Ali](/img/default/llt.png)
A landlord operating in the London borough of Brent has been has been ordered to pay close to £7,500 for cramming...
21 September 2016
From: Breaking News
![Landlord and agents fined £20k for failing to licence rental property](/img/default/llt.png)
A landlord and his letting agents have been slapped with a fine of more than £20,000 and given criminal records for failing...
15 September 2016
From: Breaking News
![Landlord fined £40,000 for cramming 24 tenants into one property](/img/default/llt.png)
A criminal landlord has been handed a fine of almost £40,000 after he was caught housing 24 tenants in a rental...
18 August 2016
From: Breaking News
![‘Slumlord’ handed a hefty fine for ignoring tenant’s pleas for repairs](/img/default/llt.png)
A landlord has been fined £16,000 and now has a criminal record after being punished in court for refusing to make...
10 August 2016
From: Breaking News
![Unscrupulous landlord pocketed £80,000 a year from 'appalling' house in Wembley](/img/default/llt.png)
No fewer than 31 people were found to be living in cramped conditions in a four bedroom house in north-west London...