Inspecting your property
We may need to inspect your property as part of the licensing process to check compliance with your licence conditions - more about this and how we identify and enforce unlicensed properties.
Property licensing compliance inspections
As part of the property licensing process, we may need to carry out an inspection. The purpose of this visit is to check compliance with the conditions of the licence that has been issued.
We are committed to working with landlords to educate and improve standards across the sector. However, non-compliance with the conditions is a criminal offence which may lead to enforcement action being taken against the licence holder and/or managing agent in the most serious of cases.
Inspections will be carried out on the basis of the level of risk with the higher risk properties being inspected first.
How we identify unlicensed properties
The council uses a number of different data sources to identify unlicensed properties, including checking these against existing licences and licence applications. If we believe a property is unlicensed, we will investigate. This may include making an unannounced visit to the property and if the property is found to be unlicensed, we will take enforcement action.
Enforcement action
Operating an unlicensed property is an offence, which can lead to the following:
- prosecution and a fine of an unlimited amount OR a Civil Penalty Notice of up to £30,000
- issuing of a reduced term licence
- inclusion of the person committing the offence on the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlord database.
In addition, tenants who have been living in an unlicensed property may be eligible to reclaim any rent they paid during the period of time the property was unlicensed.