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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Matthew Pearce

Two-thirds of English councils have not prosecuted a single landlord in past three years

'Let by' signs along a street
Fewer than 2% of tenant complaints led to formal enforcement of any kind. Photograph: Paul Maguire/Alamy

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.

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