Property licensing violations now account for over half of the £24.1 million in total penalties issued to landlords and letting agents across London, according to an analysis by property data firm Kamma published on May 27, 2026.
Data from the Mayor of London's Rogue Landlord Database shows these offenses total £14.8 million.
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Since the database launched in 2018, property licensing has become the primary source of financial penalties in the capital.
London currently has a record 162 active licensing schemes, with one-third introduced in the last 12 months.
Discretionary licensing restrictions now operate in 28 of 32 London boroughs, covering 88% of the capital.
The average fine for managing agents has risen 14% since November 2025, reaching £7,300 per offense. Enforcement varies significantly across boroughs.
Borough Enforcement Strategies Differ
Waltham Forest has the highest total fines at £5.9 million across 714 cases. Camden pursues a high-volume strategy with 964 cases, applying consistent regulatory pressure.
Kensington & Chelsea has the highest financial severity per case, averaging over £108,000 per prosecution by targeting the most severe offenders through fewer legal actions.
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Local authorities have moved away from reactive complaint-handling.
Tower Hamlets assists tenants with legal support for Rent Repayment Orders (RRO) at the First Tier Tribunal, recovering over £1.3 million for renters.
Camden and Islington run council prosecutions and tenant RRO support simultaneously, creating compounding financial consequences for non-compliant landlords after a single conviction.
“Camden and Islington are running a prosecutorial pipeline that turns council convictions into near-automatic Rent Repayment Orders for tenants,” said Orla Shields, CEO at Kamma.
Shields noted that the Renters’ Rights Act and 162 active schemes have fundamentally changed the compliance landscape. “Tower Hamlets is providing free legal representation.
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For agents in particular, the assumption that licensing complexity is someone else’s problem is one the fine data clearly no longer supports,” she added.
