Hackney Council approves fresh powers to tackle rogue landlords

Licence to bill: Cllr Sem Moema (left) talks to a renter in Dalston. Photograph: Hackney Council

Rogue landlords could face fines and criminal prosecution if they fail to keep their houses in order under new licensing powers approved by Hackney Council earlier this week.

More than 1,500 rented homes in the borough must now be brought up to scratch after the Town Hall moved to even the odds that it says are “stacked all too firmly in favour of landlords”.

In Brownswood, Cazenove and Stoke Newington wards, landlords will need to prove that their properties meet “acceptable standards” before being given a licence to rent them out.

The council’s Better Renting campaign found that more than 15 per cent of the 4,700 privately rented homes in the three wards suffer from hazards such as damp, dangerous boilers, exposed wiring and vermin infestations.

Licences will also be required for Hackney’s 4,000 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) – homes with two or more households and shared facilities such as kitchens, bathrooms and toilets.

Better Renting estimates that one in five of the borough’s HMOs do not meet minimum standards.

Landlords who do not acquire a licence or fail to comply with its conditions will face a fixed penalty, criminal prosecution or be forced to pay back up to a year’s rent.

Serious offenders will be served with a banning order, preventing them from letting out a property, and added to a database of rogue landlords.

Cllr Sem Moema, Mayor Glanville’s adviser on private renting, said: “As a long term renter in Hackney myself, I’ve experienced first hand a private rented sector in which the odds are stacked all too firmly in favour of landlords.

“These new measures are a milestone in our commitment to challenging this and creating a better system for renters in the borough.

“We know that many landlords provide a good service to their tenants, but all too many fail to do so.

“Introducing additional property licensing will mean landlords will have to bring hundreds of homes up to scratch in hazard hotspots where conditions are at their worst.”

According to the council, one in three households in Hackney now rents privately, leading to rent increases of 36 per cent since 2011.

Renting a two-bedroom home now costs over £1,800 a month on average.

Cllr Moema added: “In Hackney, we’ve always provided advice and support to those struggling in the private sector and pushed government to do more to help renters – but this move shows that we’re also willing to intervene in the market to get renters the protection they deserve.”

House proud: students deliver petition to the Town Hall last May. Photograph: CitizensUK

Social justice alliance Citizens UK said the new powers were “essential” when the council launched a consultation on them last September.

Speaking at the time, the group’s organiser Caitlin Burbridge said: “Other London boroughs have found it of great benefit to have similar enhanced powers of enforcement and, if necessary, prosecution, to deal with the worst offenders.

“The move will undoubtedly drive up standards in the private rented sector on which so many people and families have to rely for a roof over their heads.”

Citizens UK petitioned for the introduction of licensing in May 2017.

For more information on the new measures, please visit the council’s website here