A ‘significant number’ of HMOs in Camden are operating without a licence

A “significant number” of Camden’s private landlords who need to license their rental properties are dodging their obligations, according to a council report published this month.

On Monday 13 January, local councillors pored over a review of the borough’s houses in multiple occupation (HMO) licensing scheme.

Under UK law, landlords who rent out houses or flats to at least three tenants who do not form a single household — as is becoming increasingly common with flatshares — need to obtain an HMO licence to do so.

Smaller properties with three to four occupants are subject to “additional licensing”. For instance, when houses are converted into self-contained flats but do not meet building regulations.

The goal of these regulations are to ensure homes meet minimum standards such as those around fire safety and overcrowding.

Camden’s private sector housing service manager, Darren Wilsher, told the housing scrutiny committee it was a “real challenge” for the council to ensure landlords stick to the rules.

“We go to a lot of efforts to specifically tailor the licences to every property, telling them the exact works that need to be done,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there’s only so much we can do at the end of the day. They’re operating a business, and they really need to take some ownership.”

Using data from the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the council has identified 7,450 properties in the borough that need licensing.

Of these, 6,200 come under the “additional licensing” scheme. Over 4,000 have been dealt with or are awaiting inspection.

“There remain however a significant number of HMOs operating within Camden without a licence, based on the BRE modelling data,” states the report.

Fire safety works are the most common type of improvement (90 percent) the borough’s private landlords make to their properties in order to obtain a HMO licences, the report states.

The council plans to raise awareness of licensing rules by “targeting landlords and managing agents (who should already be aware of their legal obligations, and the significant penalties for failing to comply),” but also among HMO tenants who may not be alert to whether the house or flat they live in needs regulating.

Wilsher was also pressed by Cllr Meric Apak (Labour, Kentish Town South) on the progress of a new selective licensing scheme for Camden, whereby all of Camden’s private landlords would need a permit to let out properties.

This measure was introduced by the Housing Act 2004, with the aim of alleviating poor housing conditions, antisocial behavior (ASB) or high levels of deprivation in specific areas.

Although more data was needed and the policy would have to go through a consultation, Wilsher confirmed Camden could see this scheme up and running in the borough next year.

“[That’s] music to my ears”, said Cllr Apak, who said he was “impatient” to see the policy introduced.

The Town Hall now enjoys new powers handed down from central government, after the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government in December relaxed the rules for councils to regulate private landlords through selective licensing.

Previously, a local authority would have first needed approval from Whitehall to bring in this scheme for more than 20 percent of its geographical area.

Cllr Richard Cotton (Labour, Camden Town) suggested that beyond owners failing to comply with regulations, the deeper problem was that private rentals had overtaken the social rented sector.

“However many good private landlords there are, [the sector] is there for profit. Until we get more social housing we are never going to address this,” he told colleagues.

Today, the Town Hall announced its plans to “build thousands of new homes to respond to growing local housing needs” and take countless families off its housing waitlist.

The council’s housing strategy states that the local authority expects to deliver 1,800 “high quality social rented homes”, made up of 1,300 upgrades and 500 additional homes in the borough, over a five-year timeframe.

However, it does not give a specific deadline for completion.

Cllr Sagal Abdi-Wali, cabinet member for better homes, said: “We have been doing all we can to invest in our homes and increase our housing supply, and we will continue to make our case to government to secure more funding so we can buy and build even more homes in the borough.”

In September, Camden Council successfully prosecuted a rogue property management firm after they were found to have committed a “series of offences” at two HMOs in the borough.

Alvaro Odeh-Torro and his company London Living Group were fined £50,000 due to severe overcrowding violations in both properties.

At the time, Cllr Abdi-Wali, said: “Most of our landlords are decent law-abiding people.

“However, for too long, a minority have been able to let housing that is unsuitable, while exploiting their tenants and woefully disregarding their wellbeing and safety.”

In August last year, another property firm in Camden was ordered to repay £19,000 in rent for letting an unlicensed HMO in West Hampstead.

Labour’s Renters’ Right’s Bill is currently making its way through Parliament. It proposes tougher measures for landlords, including a ban on “no-fault” (Section 21) evictions, limits to rent increases and an end to bidding wars.

Camden Council, Housing Scrutiny Committee, Monday, 13 January 2025. Agenda. Webcast.