A BBC investigation has uncovered a widespread black-market rental sector in London where there appears to be more unlicensed HMOs than legal ones in some boroughs.
The programme appears to have been sparked in party by the case of an Uber delivery worker who died in a crowded unlicensed flat within Maddocks House on Cornwall Street, Shadwell (main image) in 2023 following a fire.
The programme features an undercover reporter who responds to adverts in shop windows in east London for a ‘bedspace’ in shared rooms found unsanitary and overcrowded unlicensed homes, with tenants contending with black mould and rats.
In one property in Waltham Forest, where a shared bedroom was advertised at £330 a month, he was met by about 10 young men who all appeared to live there. The room was shared between three people, and on some of the beds there was no bedding or even a mattress. One of the men admitted they were subletting and said there was no HMO licence.
A company representing the property owner told the BBC that the tenancy agreement “expressly forbids” subletting and multiple occupancy and that the property had never been let or advertised for those purposes. It had taken prompt action when it learned of the contract breach. Waltham Forest Council also said it would act.
An experimental data project - Marks Out Of Tenancy - flags potential unlicensed HMOs by searching through a range of financial data sources to identify properties associated with large numbers of people who have different surnames.
Founder Ben Yarrow found more than 700 possible HMOs in a part of Newham, where there are only 75 licensed properties, while in part of Tower Hamlets he found nearly 500 suspected HMOs when the council has publicly listed only 50 HMO licences here, although it said more properties were licensed.
Tower Hamlets Council said it thought the data was incorrect and that it actively investigates reports of unlicensed properties, while Newham Council said it uses advanced systems to identify unlicensed HMOs and follows up all resident complaints.
Sean Hooker, Head of Redress, Property Redress
"This new documentary demonstrates the extent of the challenges the sector faces. While it represents a small fraction of the overall rental market, private renting now forms such a large part of housing supply that the actual numbers involved are frightening.
"The BBC’s findings, uncovering the shocking conditions many tenants endure, highlight just how urgent this issue is.
"Given the chronic shortage of housing, the economic and affordability issues faced by renters, it is all too easy for the unscrupulous to exploit vulnerable tenants.
"Licensing schemes are increasingly common and, where properly enforced, they have raised standards. However, this depends heavily on how well local authorities are resourced and how effectively they work with the rental community to create a collaborative and cooperative landscape, one that fosters compliance and creates a hostile environment for those who choose to break the law.
"The proposed private rented sector database, which will require all rental properties to be registered nationally, has huge potential to make a difference if rolled out effectively.
"Better data sharing would enable authorities to focus on where criminality is going under the radar. There is also an ongoing need to help educate tenants about their rights, where to access help and to reduce the fear that making a complaint will leave them homeless.
"We know that when rules are tightened, the worst offenders simply find new ways to bypass them
"We know that when rules are tightened, the worst offenders simply find new ways to bypass them. Once the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law, it is likely we will see a rise in creative criminal practices such as sham licences, illegal subletting, and exploitative rent-to-rent arrangements.
"Until we can clearly distinguish between what a safe, transparent and well-regulated sector looks like, and shine a beacon on this, the rogue element will continue to operate in the shadows, endangering tenants and destroying the reputation of those who play by the book."
For Rent: Rooms Under the Radar is on iPlayer and on BBC One in London tonight (1st August) at 8pm.
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