One in four London councils fail to prosecute a single rogue landlord

A quarter of London councils have failed to prosecute a single landlord for supplying unsafe accommodation to renters, new statistics show.

Evidence of damp, mould, poor heating and rats has been found in hundreds of properties in the capital in the past year but despite councils having greater powers to tackle rogue landlords, enforcement is still “threadbare”, according to research by Liberal Democrats at City Hall.

They say the failure to act is because of Government cuts, leaving councils poorly resourced to cope with legal action.

A spokesperson from the Department for Communities and Local Government said councils have been given £12 million to crack down on rogue landlords and they are introducing banning orders, fines and blacklists.