A Report: Landlord Complaints & Prosecutions

13 Dec

Information on housing complaints and to what extent local authorities prosecute in response to them is always of interest to those involved in housing enforcement. However, reliable information of this kind is typically difficult to find. Now a new research report has collated some information on this topic, and we will consider some of its findings here.

Background to this research

The research has not been conducted by a public body, as might perhaps be expected, but by a commercial legal services website. Public Interest Lawyers says it is one of the UK’s biggest websites for legal help, advice and support. It refers consumers to lawyers who can help them make legal claims on a no win, no fee basis.

Public Interest Lawyers’ areas of business includes personal injury claims such as accidents at work, on the road, professional and medical negligence amongst other areas. They say they can assist with claims against landlords, such as for personal injury caused by housing disrepair. Presumably this report has been published in order to generate publicity for their services. This should not, however, detract from the painstaking research they seem to have done.

The researchers made a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to every local authority in England and Wales. They asked for data on how many complaints about landlords – on matters such as housing disrepair, overcrowding, harassment or eviction – were received across the five years from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024. They also asked for information on how many prosecutions were started and the outcome. They then published this information in their report.

Key findings of this research

Some of the key findings from Public Interest Lawyers’ research are as follows:

252 or 80% of local authorities responded to requests for information by mid November 2024.
Over the five year period 2019-2024 councils in England and Wales received an average of around 87,700 complaints each year about landlords and housing conditions – 438,523 in total. (A number of local authorities had no information on complaint numbers.)
Over this period complaints numbers rose by just over 4%. (They fell slightly during Covid.)
Over the five year period 2019-2024 1,285 landlords were prosecuted.
On average nationally local authorities prosecute one landlord each per year – although there are considerable regional variations.
Most prosecutions related to a failure to comply with prohibition notices or breaches of HMO regulations. Some landlords were prosecuted for harassment or illegal eviction.
115 (or just less than half of) local authorities said that they pursued no prosecutions at all during this five year period.
49 local authorities who had launched prosecutions had only prosecuted one landlord.
Liverpool City Council received the most complaints at 19,439 over the five year period. They also received more complaints in one year (2019-2020) than most of the councils received in five years.
Other local authorities with large volumes of complaints (10,000+) included Cardiff, the London Borough of Croydon and the London Borough of Redbridge.
The places which received the largest numbers of complaints yet had no prosecutions were Birmingham, Hull, Kirklees, the London Borough of Haringey and Torbay.

Regional headlines

Since the research suggests that levels of complaints and prosecutions vary considerably across the country we will look at a few selected regional headlines here. (Note the regional data provided by the report is extensive. It is recommended to refer to the original report for full details).

Avon & Somerset: Bristol City Council did not disclose its complaints but prosecuted 28 landlords. Complaints elsewhere were low and there were only two prosecutions.
Berkshire: Complaints were moderate. There was only one prosecution.
Buckinghamshire: Milton Keynes Council received 3,142 complaints but had no prosecutions. Buckinghamshire Council prosecuted two landlords.
Cambridgeshire: Complaints levels were generally low. Cambridge City Council prosecuted six landlords. (The report says it was one of the few that took legal action against landlords for illegal eviction and harassment.)
Cheshire: Warrington Borough Council had 2,480 complaints and five prosecutions. Complaints elsewhere were low with one prosecution.
Cornwall: Cornwall Council had 2,940 complaints and four prosecutions.
Derbyshire: The report says Derbyshire was: ‘one of the more prolific counties’ for prosecutions. Five of the eight responding authorities took at least one landlord to court.
Devon: Most complaints were in Plymouth, Torbay and East Devon. There were nine prosecutions county wide. Torbay had a high level of complaints but no prosecutions.
Dorset: There were 3,500 complaints and one prosecution county wide.
Durham: Durham County Council had 2,723 complaints and three prosecutions. Darlington Borough Council had 1,572 complaints and four prosecutions.
East Yorkshire: Hull City Council had 9,081 complaints and, notably, no prosecutions. East Riding of Yorkshire Council had 3,356 complaints and six prosecutions.
Essex: Epping Forest District Council and Harlow Council recorded no complaints. Thurrock Council had 2,755 complaints and 16+ prosecutions.
Gloucestershire: Complaints levels were low but data was patchy. Cheltenham Borough Council had 1,486 complaints and two prosecutions.
Greater Manchester: Manchester City Council was ‘seventh on the national list’ for most complaints with 8,417 but had just three prosecutions. Oldham had 3,398 complaints and 66 prosecutions – one if the highest figures. Both Salford City Council and Stockport did not respond.
Hampshire/Isle of Wight: Standouts were: Portsmouth City Council had 3,647 complaints and two prosecutions. Rushmoor had 1,729 complaints and one prosecution. Isle of Wight had 1,167 complaints but no prosecutions. Gosport had 1,016 complaints and no prosecutions.
Hertfordshire: Complaints levels were moderate but enforcement varied considerably. For example, Dacorum Borough Council had 950 complaints and three prosecutions. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council had 767 complaints and 22 prosecutions.
Kent: Notable here was Thanet District Council’s prosecution of four landlords and 55 cases. The report points out this included very serious cases of harassment.
Leicestershire: Generally had moderate levels of complaints and few prosecutions. Exceptions were Charnwood Borough Council with 4,121 complaints (one prosecution) and Leicester City Council with 3,918 (four prosecutions).
Lincolnshire: The report puts two councils here ‘in the top 20 for more complaints received by a council that took no court action against landlords.’ Separately Lincoln City Council had 1,121 complaints and 14 prosecutions.
Lancashire: The report puts three councils ‘in the top 20 for more complaints received by a council that took no court action against landlords.’ Blackpool was a hotspot with 4,403 complaints and 28 prosecutions.
London: The picture is very varied across London. The full report provides much more detail.

Standout points are that, on average, each borough received 750 complaints per year from tenants, and took an average of four landlords to court. Croydon received most complaints. Barking and Dagenham launched most prosecutions. Kingston upon Thames and Haringey had no prosecutions.

Merseyside: Liverpool City Council received more complaints than anywhere else with 19,439. It had 39 prosecutions. Wirral Borough Council only had 430 complaints but nine prosecutions.
Nottinghamshire: Nottingham City Council had 10,000 complaints and 12 prosecutions. Nearby Rushcliffe said it recorded no complaints but had two prosecutions.
Norfolk: The report summarised: ‘Councils across Norfolk have largely attempted to resolve cases outside of the courtroom in the past half-decade.’
North Yorkshire: There were 7,000 complaints and three prosecutions.
Oxfordshire: Oxford City Council received a sizable 8,375 complaints. There was just one prosecution.
Shropshire: Generally a low level of complaints. Just one prosecution.
South Yorkshire: Rotherham Borough Council received the highest number of complaints at 6,300 with 12 prosecutions. The larger Sheffield City Council next door had just 2,176 complaints but also 12 prosecutions.
Staffordshire: Stoke on Trent had 5,065 complaints and 8 prosecutions. Other areas had low levels of complaints.
Suffolk: Only two of five local authorities responded. Ipswich had a relatively low 394 complaints with 17 prosecutions.
Surrey: Was a mixed bag but broadly had moderate levels of complaints and few prosecutions. Complaints ranged from 258 at Runnymede Borough Council (one prosecution) to 1,185 at Reigate & Banstead (two prosecutions). Guildford and Tandridge said they had no complaints recorded but prosecuted two and one landlord respectively.
Sussex: Low-moderate levels of complaints and prosecutions. Exceptions were Brighton and Hove City Council with 1,852 complaints and one prosecution, and Hastings Borough Council with 1,340 complaints and one prosecution.
Tyne & Wear: Newcastle City Council did not respond. Other authorities had low numbers of complaints and few prosecutions. Sunderland City Council had most with 591 complaints and prosecuted eight landlords.
Warwickshire: Generally low levels of complaints and prosecutions. The exception was Stratford upon Avon District Council. Interestingly the report states that it pursued 12 cases, all relating to Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards.
West Midlands: Birmingham City Council was notable for having a high level of complaints (7,425) but no prosecutions. The other five local authorities who responded had a very significant level of complaints with just seven prosecutions.
West Yorkshire: The report says: ‘Two West Yorkshire councils are in the top 15 around the country for most complaints about housing received.’ Leeds City Council had 6,641 complaints and 99 prosecutions. Bradford City Council had 7,416 complaints and three prosecutions. Three other authorities had 900 complaints between them and no prosecutions. Kirklees was notable for a high level of complaints alongside no prosecutions.
Worcestershire: Five councils had 2,000 complaints with just one prosecution (in 2019-20).
Elsewhere in England: Peterborough City Council was among the top 20 councils for housing complaints, receiving 4,921. There were six prosecutions.
North/Mid Wales: A mixed bag. Denbighshire County Council had 2,208 complaints but no prosecutions. Flintshire County Council reported four complaints and five prosecutions.
South Wales: The report says: ‘Only two councils in England and Wales received more complaints about housing than Cardiff City Council.’ It had 11,509, but had no data on prosecutions. The other eight areas had significant levels of complaints (21,282 in total) and 49 prosecutions.

Some thoughts on the research

It should be pointed out that the data only covers 80% of local authorities in England and Wales. However, in an area where it has long been difficult to get good quality data this is a good-sized sample, and the researchers deserve credit for the work they have put in.

It should also be noted that different local authorities provided the data in different ways. For example, some included warnings and civil penalties in the data. A small number said they did not have this data. In other words, local authority data is often inconsistent. However the researchers appear to have processed the data to try and ensure consistency as much as is possible.

Bearing this in mind the report also confirms what many people in the industry will know: Local authority housing enforcement activity is very patchy. Some do a lot. Others do much less.

The report also confirms what some might say is obvious: Large cities with large populations and rental markets tend to have more housing complaints. Smaller areas which, additionally, may be more rural or less deprived have fewer.

But there the similarity ends. There are great variations in levels of complaints and prosecutions across similar areas and particularly in large cities. Birmingham and Liverpool are obvious examples here. There are also wide differences across London boroughs.

Of course, these variations are largely due to the fact that housing enforcement is mostly a local authority issue. Different local authorities have different ways of doing things. In particular some are more willing to prosecute while others are reluctant to. And this research perhaps also confirms what many people in the industry already feel: The current situation, where there is inconsistent data and patchy enforcement, is not very satisfactory. Not for landlords, not for tenants, not for local authorities.

One thing the report mentions, and which we should perhaps take further here, is the upcoming Renters’ Rights legislation. The new law is likely to introduce some major changes. These include, to mention just a few particularly relevant ones, new standards for private landlords to meet such as the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law. There will be a new PRS Database and PRS Landlord Ombudsman. There will be new responsibilities and powers for local authorities and requirements for them to report on their enforcement activity.

Many will ask, will the new law lead to better data and more consistent enforcement …. or not?

Should the researchers decide to repeat their study in a few years time, when Renters’ Rights is in force, the results will likely make very interesting reading. In the meantime, however, this report has added measurably to the understanding of local authority housing enforcement.

Further details

You can read the full research from Public Interest Lawyers here: Statistics And Research On Landlord Prosecutions In Britain

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