Only 16 rogue landlords in England are subject to banning orders because councils can’t afford to take them to court – despite seeing regular criminal activity.
A Freedom of Information request by openDemocracy reveals that London council Camden has handed out the most, with seven, followed by two by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.
Seven other councils have handed out one banning order each: Cornwall County Unity Authority, Telford & Wrekin, Wirral Borough Council, Cambridge City Council, Leeds City Council, Bristol City Council and Bournemouth Borough Council.
The news site found that no other London council has any banning orders in place while the capital’s database of rogue landlords exceeds 250 entries.
One local authority enforcement officer told openDemocracy that they frequently encountered the kind of criminal activity that could warrant a ban but didn’t have the resources to address it.
Banned
Some landlords continued to rent out properties after being banned, and even those who faced penalties for breaching their bans can receive immaterial fines.
The number of live banning orders – which expire after a certain period depending on the offence – is “certainly” lower than the number of crimes committed, leading housing lawyer Giles Peaker (pictured) told the site.
“It involves prosecutions, which is time-consuming and costly to local authorities,” said Peaker. “There are disincentives to use it when local authorities are cash strapped.”
In January 2022, the number on the Rogue Landlord database – those who have been convicted of banning order offences or have received at least two financial penalties within 12 months – had only crept up to 61 out of the thousands thought to be operating within the private rental sector.
The government claims its Renters (Reform) Bill will give it new powers to crack down on criminal landlords by creating a national landlord database, but it makes no mention of increased funding.
