London Mayors database hailed a success nearly 5 years after its launch

In Autumn 2017, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan launched an online database to name and shame landlords and lettings agents who exploit their tenants.

The database was built in partnership with London Boroughs and contains details of Landlords and Lettings agents who have been successfully prosecuted for housing offences.

Now, nearly 5 years on, the Landlord and Agent checker database has been used more than 388,000 times.

Meanwhile, the Property Licence Checker, launched in November 2020 to allow Londoners to find out if their rental property is properly licenced, has been accessed more than 125,000 times.

These usage figures show how concerned Londoners are about the condition of the properties they are renting and the credentials of the people they are renting from. London’s renters are now able to make more informed decisions about who they rent from.

The Mayor has repeatedly called on Ministers to do more to stand up for the rights of renters which would start with the establishment of a National Rogue Landlord Database, as was promised previously in the Renters Reform Bill. Mr Khan is also campaigning to increase the amount that tenants can claim back if their home is in disrepair doubled to two years' worth of rent for the worst properties, (those which pose a risk of death or serious injury).

Nearly a fifth of privately rented homes (18 per cent) fail the Government’s Decent Homes standard. Renters currently are afraid to raise complaints about the condition of their property as they risk facing the threat of arbitrary eviction. The Mayor has called for Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions to be finally abolished, however, this plan has currently been shelved by the Government.

Report a Rogue

Further stats show that more than 6,000 Londoners have now used the Mayor’s Report a Rogue tool, launched in autumn 2017, to report concerns or problems with a rental property or landlord directly to enforcement teams in the relevant borough. The borough are then able to take action against the landlord or lettings agent where necessary.

Examples of where this has been particularly successful is in Camden and Waltham Forest. Following a referral through the report a rogue tool, Camden council obtained London’s first rogue landlord banning order. The landlord’s details are now on the rogue landlord and agent checker.

Waltham Forest also receives reports from tenants via the Report a Rogue Tool and their enforcement officers visit the properties to assess conditions, taking any necessary enforcement action to improve sub-standard housing conditions.

These services have empowered renters and helped them to avoid and report rouge landlords and agents.

Not only does it allow local boroughs to investigate rogue landlords and to improve standards in the private sector, but it is also backing good and honest landlords to continue running successful businesses.