Rogue landlord fines go uncollected despite rise in council inspections – NRLA

The number of inspections carried out under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) rose by just over 7%, from 85,326 between 2021/22 and 2022/23 to 91,620 between 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Of the 285 English councils that responded, almost £30m in fines was issued to private landlords between 2023/24 and 2024/25. Of that amount, around £7.5m – or 24.9% – was collected.

A total of 3,695 civil penalties were issued by local authorities in England during this period, which covered an array of offences connected to the private rented sector.

Select Committee findings

The cross-party Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee recently reported a “postcode lottery” of local authority regulation and enforcement of standards in the private rented sector, stating that many local authorities are failing to protect tenants and provide a meaningful deterrent against rogue landlords.

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The committee said the government must require councils to publish annual reports on the regulation and enforcement of their local private rented markets. This included data on inspection and enforcement activity, to enable better scrutiny and accountability of local authorities.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said: “Whilst an increase in property inspections suggests more proactive enforcement, councils are failing to collect the money they should from those flouting their obligations.

“Under a system in which the polluter should be paying, it is those responsible landlords being clobbered with licensing and other fees who are having to cover the costs of rooting out the rogue and criminal minority. This is not sustainable and undermines the confidence of those landlords who we want to keep in the market.

“Councils must publish annual reports ensuring transparency about the money they receive from licensing and other such schemes, and how that it translates to better enforcement. By not taking this step, both tenants and good faith landlords seeking to do the right thing will continue to be let down by a failing system.”