Search underway for unlicensed private rented homes in Brent

Tuesday, November 12th, 2024 - London Borough of Brent

Enforcement officers have begun patrolling the streets in Brent to ensure all private rented homes are correctly licensed. 

The first street patrol took place six months after selective licensing was extended borough-wide. In Brent, every landlord who rents out a property must ensure it is correctly licensed, except for single family properties in Wembley Park.

Teams comprising planning, anti-social behaviour and private sector housing officers knocked on the door of every house in Stanley Avenue, Wembley, offering advice on waste management, listening to any concerns about anti-social behaviour and, where the property was a rental home, asking if it was licensed and free of serious hazards.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, said: 

“We are receiving licensing applications, but we know there are many more applications still to be made. 

“We have intelligence on certain streets with evidence to suggest that tenants might be living in unlicensed properties, or in properties that are in breach of planning regulations, and those are the areas we are targeting through our street patrols.

“No rogue landlord will slip through the net in Brent: if you are a landlord in Brent and your property is unlicensed, we will find you and you will face prosecution and hefty fines.”

Last month, a landlord whose tenants were paying £3,500 to live in an overcrowded house of horrors, was handed fines totalling nearly £50,000. Willesden Magistrates Court ordered Sanjay Patel to pay £49,495 for breaches to the Housing Act at a semi-detached house that he managed in Vivian Avenue, Wembley (read here).

Our free guide containing more information about property licensing and HMO planning restriction in Brent is available here.

For all the latest news and events, you can sign up for the free London Property Licensing newsletter here.