The Generation Rent activist group says it is “concerned” at what it regards as a low number of councils taking court action against private landlords.
The Guardian newspaper claims two-thirds of councils in England have not prosecuted a single landlord in the past three years, despite apparently receiving 300,000 complaints from tenants.
From 2022 to 2024, nearly half of local authorities responsible for housing did not fine a landlord, while more than a third did not issue any formal action against people letting out homes unlawfully in the private rental sector. The paper says councils prosecuted 640 landlords and issued 4,702 civil penalty notices – fewer than 2% of the number of complaints received by private tenants.
Some 16 landlords have been banned from letting homes: eight of these were in London.
A spokesperson for Generation Rent is cited in the paper, saying: “It’s really concerning. Councils simply don’t have the resources to enforce, leaving landlords across the country not fulfilling their obligations, and renters living in awful conditions that impact their physical and mental health.”
And a separate spokesperson for the Renters Reform Coalition – a collection of activist groups, led by Generation Rent – says: “Legislation without enforcement to back it up is just paperwork. The new Renters’ Rights Act should deliver important new protections for private renters – but for tenants to benefit, the government must commit the resources and funding necessary for councils to enforce the act and hold criminal landlords to account.”
Some 252 councils responded to The Guardian’s freedom of information request, saying that despite the apparently small number of cases, private landlords were nonetheless hit with £26.4m in fines from 2022 to 2024.
At the end of last week the government said it would give an additional £18m of taxpayer money as “burdens funding” to help councils prepare for enforcing the Renters Rights Act.
The Guardian’s analysis found that although Birmingham received the third highest number of complaints of any council in England (12,002), it has not prosecuted any landlords since 2022 and raised £99,065 from fines – a formal enforcement rate of 0.38%. In a statement, Birmingham council said: “We have recently reviewed and refined our enforcement policy, particularly around CPNs, and we look forward to further national guidance on this subject.”
By contrast, Leeds council received 2,797 complaints but prosecuted 24 landlords, issued 770 CPNs and banned one rogue landlord, meaning 28% of tenant complaints resulted in formal action.
Councils in Streatham and Croydon North in London, the constituency of the housing secretary, Steve Reed, rank among the worst in the country for enforcement. Croydon council received 4,461 tenant complaints but did not prosecute any landlords and issued three civil penalty notices, collecting £16,000 in fines in 2022.
Lambeth council in south London handled 3,207 complaints and took three enforcement actions – a rate of 0.09%.
You can see the full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/nov/16/two-thirds-of-english-councils-have-not-prosecuted-a-single-landlord-in-past-three-years
This article is taken from Landlord Today