London council launches campaign against rogue landlords

Rogue landlords in the borough of Westminster in London who flout the 90 night limit on short term letting or have an illegal number of tenants in a property are facing a crackdown.

The council has launched a £429,000 campaign with a team of four investigative officers to tackle irresponsible or unlawful nightly letting and conduct a wider survey of conditions in the private rented sector to gather evidence so that the council can prosecute those who are irresponsible.

The aim is to highlight hotspots for the council to take action and create an opportunity for more education and promotion of good practice, alongside enforcement. There will be a particular focus on illegal houses in multiple occupancy, which can represent a serious risk to tenants.

The council revealed that Airbnb lettings in Westminster increased from 1,603 in 2015 to 3,621 in 2017, an increase of 126%. As of September 2017 almost 1,500 properties are being investigated for potential unauthorised use for short lets.

The council believes that people who break the rules to let their property all year round on a commercial basis, frequently for one or two nights at a time results a high level of anti-social behaviour and complaints to the council about these properties.

There is no concern about those who let their home for several months at a time within the Government’s 90 night limit, making some extra money via popular short term letting websites. Residents can flag nuisance neighbours through the council’s Report It app, letting the council know if they believe landlords are breaking the 90 night limit.

Where evidence is obtained that a property has exceeded the 90 night limit without planning permission, the council will issue an enforcement notice requiring the recipients to observe the limit going forward.

It constitutes a criminal offence to breach the requirements of an enforcement notice and the City Council will not hesitate to prosecute those people found to be committing an offence.
Conviction in the Magistrates’ or Crown Court can lead to an unlimited fine and an enforcement notice and owners may also be breaching their mortgage conditions and home insurance.

‘I know there are many who legitimately and responsibly let out their homes for under 90 nights a year to make some extra money,’ said councillor Nickie Aiken, leader of Westminster City Council.

‘However, some selfish people treat this as an entirely commercial enterprise, letting their property out for one or two nights at a time all year round, with little or no thought to the wider community,’ she explained.

‘It is quite simple. Ninety days must mean just that. Companies must take responsibility for some of the unintended consequences of their business model, which is causing misery in pockets of ours and other cities across the world,’ she pointed out.

She is also calling on the Government to introduce a new tax on nightly letting as local tax payers unfairly bear the burden of related council services and activities.