Revealed: Only 16 rogue landlords are banned from renting out properties

Only 16 rogue landlords in the whole of England are currently subject to banning orders because cash-strapped councils can’t afford to take them to court, openDemocracy can reveal.

One enforcement officer told us they see criminal activity from landlords “daily” but a lack of resources means their council is powerless.

There are 42 offences that warrant banning orders, including unlawful eviction and harassment. The ban stops them from renting out properties, working in property management or working as a letting agent for a specified period of time.

But according to a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), there are only 16 live banning orders in England, with London council Camden having handed out the most at seven.

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has handed out two, while 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.

London’s own database of rogue landlords exceeds 250 entries (including duplicates) – but outside Camden, not a single one of its remaining 32 councils has any banning orders in place.

Yet one local authority enforcement officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told openDemocracy they and their colleagues frequently encounter the kind of criminal activity that could warrant a ban.

“In terms of harassment or illegal eviction, we see this weekly, daily,” they said. “‘Oh, these tenants had the electric switched off?’ or, they’re living in a flat above a shop, and the landlord’s playing loud music to try and force them out. There are all sorts of problems unless the tenant knows that it's illegal.

“With banning orders, we've got quite a lot of powers but we haven't got a lot of resources. It is so easy for especially vulnerable tenants to get treated badly by landlords. Some of it is ignorance and some of it’s deliberate – there’s no getting away from it.”

The enforcement officer also said they knew of landlords who have continued to rent out properties after being banned, and added that even landlords who face 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 told openDemocracy.

“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.”

Research has shown that the ability for local authorities to crack down on criminal landlords is affected by cuts to services and a lack of housing enforcement officers.

“It is very, very complex, very, very time-consuming to put together all the evidence to the standard criminal tests,” the enforcement officer said. “It is not straightforward. You really do have to do a lot of background work and investigative work. People hide behind different companies, changing names, spellings.”

When the plans were first announced in 2016, then-housing minister Gavin Barwell said they would “allow us to drive out the worst offenders” and “help local authorities to take robust and effective action against rogues”. The same government also enforced real-terms cuts of 40% to local authority budgets between 2009/10 and 2019/20.

As a result, councils often pursue other penalties such as a civil charge notice, which can be up to £30,000.

The government claims its Renters (Reform) Bill, first introduced to Parliament in June, will give it new powers to crack down on criminal landlords by creating a national landlord database and requiring landlords to register properties on a portal. However, it makes no mention of increased funding to local authorities to enable them to act on or enforce any new powers granted in the legislation.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of tenants advocacy group Generation Rent, told openDemocracy that irrespective of the barriers, councils must commit to cracking down on criminal landlords.

“No one wants criminal landlords renting out homes, but who is really stopping them?” said Twomey. “That there are only 16 banning orders across England is shocking given how many renters have had to put up with the most appalling conditions.

“Councils can and must be more proactive with issuing banning orders when they are appropriate and making sure that they are enforced.

“That’s why we are calling for the government to bring the Renters (Reform) Bill back to Parliament as soon as possible. The bill would introduce a Property Portal and an Ombudsman which would make it harder for criminal landlords to slip under the radar.”

DLUHC did not respond to requests for comment.