A council has issued a statement apparently celebrating the fact that it’s fined HMO landlords over £100,000 since the start of 2024.
An additional HMO licensing scheme has been in operation across the whole of Haringey since 2019. Anyone found to be deliberately avoiding licencing will be subject to a Civil Penalty Notice which can lead to a maximum penalty of £30,000.
Tenants who live in unlicenced properties may be entitled to up to 12 months’ rent repaid back to them through Rent Repayment Orders.
A spokesperson for Haringey council says: "Our priority is and always will be to protect our tenants welfare and ensure they live in safe, well-maintained homes.
“These fines send a clear message that we will not tolerate negligence from landlords and letting agents.
“We are committed to upholding high standards for all rental properties in Haringey."
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My council is slightly less useful than a chocolate teapot
The only part of my council that seems to operate promptly is the issue of council tax bills. A tenant moves out on a Friday and before the next tenant moves in the maintenance team cgevk over the property and do any work required. This usually takes a week, so the property is empty for that week. The council tax bill forvthe balance of the year, plus supplement for "unoccupied second property" usually arrives by the end of the week. The new tenant (from our waiting list) is then in place the week after. There then follows a long and protracted fight to get the council tax bill withdrawn and re-issued for the correct amount.
I have experienced exactly the same problem with Council Tax bills. This causes extra hassle for the landlord who is forced to make a payment and then claim the overpayment back. Personally I think Landlords should be exempt for one month between tenancies so necessary works can be carried out.
They actually make more work for themselves as well as us!
I don't pay until I get a bill for the correct amount
Margaret, I just ignore the council tax bills that they send out as soon as they know the property is back in my name and pay the adjusted amount after the new tenant moves in a week or 2 later and never have had a problem. Looking at the court system, it would take them a year to take me to court. :)
I always pay my contractors immediately but for me the council can wait until the house is re let, they are asking for money that I don't owe them. I'd never trust them if I paid the years council tax and rely on them paying me back the remainder.
I find that at least one of my local councils have a very good website where I can log in and view the council tax owed on each property and then they adjust it after a new tenant moves in.
I agree, being exempt would be nice as the house in empty and not using any council services but I get charged 200% for every day that it's empty.
I've tried to fight it but got nowhere so I just accept it as another tax grab from landlords. It's just not worth the extra stress worrying about it.
Make them wait.
I suggest they start with looking after the tenants in social housing, and then when that's all up to a good standard they can cast the net wider.
Getting back to the Article , Two interesting facts ,
1 NRLA Stated The Selective Licence fees were not High enough ( Consultation Report findings)
2 10000 people on the waiting list , 90 % will never be housed in Social Housing .
Has selected licence benefitted tenants , or just made money fore the Council ?
Landlords need to be incentivised to take benefit tenants not beaten over the head with a stick. Why can’t they see that?
As a LL in this borough! Lucky me ! The council are useless at taking care of their social housing and just chase low hanging fruit LL from the SL for income and fines as they know they can keep those funds. No-one audits where the money goes as they never reply to my FOI request about it. NRLA did a deep dive analysis and found a majority of the fines were for HMOs not SL properties!. They had 1500 complaints over 4 years but don't separate it out via PRS and social housing as they are hiding the real story i.e Most tenants are unhappy with social housing.
Stephen, I have never seen that info from the NRLA, but wouldn't be surprised, Can you post a link? I'm already wondering why I am still a member.
I don't need to accept people on benefits, although, due to circumstances, I now have a few.
As soon as I have a house to let there are so many applicants, I can take my pick of the best ones.
A friend recently had a house available and within hours had 74 people looking for it.
Luckily my local councils have not been greedy and forced licencing in my areas, when they do, rents will go up to pay for it and tenants told why or I will just sell the houses and the council can pay to re home them.
Who in their right mind would want an HMO in Harringay? If all the landlords there sold up the Trots on the council would have to house the tenants themselves! Talk about killing the Golden Goose!
D Duck. Thank your lucky stars I have had all licensable properties whether Houses or Flats licensed over and over again mostly 4 times over the last 18 years it’s such a scam no wonder I don’t care anymore what they do or if they are occupied, vacant or raised to the ground the way we are targeted and deliberately abused.
The same goes for London traffic virtually all the hold ups are created by idiots, restrictions, no entry, no turn there, cycle lanes but no cycles, bits of Bus lanes for fines, road works all single file & traffic lights mostly unnecessary. When I done road works couldn’t start before 10.00 am get your signs and cones out and be cleared before 16.00 pm, reduced width but still usually two way traffic continued at a reduced speed, no block off the road with traffic light single file 24/7 and leave it like that morning/evenings and all weekend, some joke and the talk about pollution, what about wasting everyone time. Is this what to learn with their 10 extra years in education.
So, none of the landlords fined appear to have done anything wrong or have anything wrong with their properties, they just received fines for not paying into the local council slush fund to receive a licence?!
Surely it would be better if the councils inspected every property applying for a licence before dictating that you have to be a member of their club first?
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