Two-thirds of English councils have not prosecuted a single landlord in past three years
Exclusive: Councils prosecuted just 64 landlords despite receiving 300,000 complaints from tenants in unfit homes
Two-thirds of councils in England have not prosecuted a single landlord in the past three years, despite receiving 300,000 complaints from desperate tenants living in unfit homes.
From 2022 to 2024, nearly half of local authorities responsible for housing did not fine a landlord, while more than a third did not issue any formal action against people letting out homes unlawfully in the private rental sector.
Councils prosecuted just 640 landlords and issued 4,702 civil penalty notices (CPNs) – meaning fewer than 2% of tenant complaints led to formal enforcement of any kind.
“It’s really concerning,” said Nye Jones, the campaigns manager at Generation Rent. “Councils simply don’t have the resources to enforce, leaving landlords across the country not fulfilling their obligations, and renters living in awful conditions that impact their physical and mental health.”
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