So far this year local authorities in the capital have issued more than £9m in fines. Kamma noted that this was close to the total of fines recorded throughout the entirety of 2022.
In 2023 20 new schemes and consultations around the licensing of landlords have been launched, with five of them in London, including Ealing, Newham, and Kensington and Chelsea. Further schemes in Redbridge and Brent are on course to be launched later this year, with four in five London boroughs now employing some form of additional or selective licensing.
Camden was the most active London council on enforcement, followed by Newham and Waltham Forest. Between them they have brought forward more than 1,000 cases against landlords and letting agents. However, Waltham Forest stands out when it comes to the size of fines, levying average fines of above £8,000 ‒ almost double that of Camden.
Orla Shields, CEO of Kamma, commented: “As both the number of new schemes and enforcement rise in the capital, it is expected that fines will surpass the £9.4m mark by the end of the year. Smart letting agents protect landlords, and their pockets, by ensuring that their compliance is watertight, removing the risk of both financial and reputational losses.”
It was revealed earlier this month that HMRC had issued fines of more than £1m this year to property firms as a result of money laundering failings.
