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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched a licence checker online tool which aims to protect the ‘wellbeing of London’s private renters’ to help them discover if their landlord has properly licensed their home.
Property licensing is a tool that boroughs in London can use to enforce decent standards in the private rented sector. Some privately rented homes in London need a property licence and the landlord of that property is responsible for obtaining it. Holding the correct property licence is a legal requirement and demonstrates that the property is suitable for occupation and managed to an acceptable standard.
Enforcement action
If a landlord does not hold the correct property licence, they may be subject to enforcement action from their local council, but the implications for renters are also significant: Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notices are invalidated and they may be entitled to a Rent Repayment Order requiring a landlord to pay back up to 12 months’ rent. The current average rent in London is around £1,425 per month, meaning a year’s worth of repaid rent would come to more than £17,000.
The online tool
The Checker hopes to empower renters and also provide intelligence to help boroughs target their enforcement against rogue landlords – especially those who have failed to register licences for larger houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), where some of the poorest property conditions are found in London.
Article abridged from ARLA/PropertyMark
