Sadiq Khan’s landlord licensing fines near £25m

Landlords and letting agents in London now face a greater financial risk from licensing breaches, with council fines moving close to £25 million.

The analysis by Kamma shows local authorities in the capital have recorded £24.1 million in fines against landlords and agents.

These are recorded on the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Rogue Landlord Database.

Licensing offences account for £14.85 million of that total, more than half of all fines recorded on the database.

Compliance enforcement has changed

The firm’s chief executive, Orla Shields, said: “The £25 million figure is striking, but the real story is how councils are enforcing.

“Camden and Islington are running a prosecutorial pipeline that turns council convictions into near-automatic Rent Repayment Orders for tenants.

“Tower Hamlets is providing free legal representation.”

She added: “With 162 schemes now active and the Renters’ Rights Act in force, the compliance environment has fundamentally changed.

“For agents in particular, the assumption that licensing complexity is someone else’s problem is one the fine data clearly no longer supports.”

Licensing covers 88% of London

Since the database was launched in 2018, licensing has moved from a relatively narrow enforcement category to the largest source of penalties in London.

There are now 162 active licensing schemes across the capital.

A third of all live schemes have been launched in the past 12 months.

Some form of property licensing now covers 88% of London, while 28 of the capital’s 32 boroughs operate discretionary licensing restrictions.

Agent fines on the rise

The average fine issued to a managing agent has risen by 14.46% since November 2025, reaching £7,300 per offence.

In January 2026, Haringey fined a landlord and managing agent a combined £12,500 for operating an unlicensed property in Tottenham.

Waltham Forest has recorded the highest total fines, with £5.9 million from 714 cases.

Camden has brought more cases than any other borough, with 964 recorded.

Kensington & Chelsea has averaged more than £108,000 per case through a smaller number of high-value prosecutions.

Enforcement methods change

Councils are also changing their enforcement methods, with less reliance on self-reporting and complaint-led action.

Tower Hamlets provides legal support to tenants pursuing Rent Repayment Orders at the First-tier Tribunal and has secured more than £1.3 million for renters to date.

Camden and Islington run prosecution work alongside tenant support for Rent Repayment Orders, creating the prospect of further financial consequences after a council conviction.

The Renters’ Rights Act has raised the maximum civil penalty from £30,000 to £40,000 per offence.

Rent Repayment Orders have also doubled, with tenants now able to claim up to 24 months of rent.