Landlords have been fined more than £200,000 for failing to get shared houses properly licensed.

Haringey Council said that the fines were issued to landlords who had failed to license their houses in multiple occupation (HMO) since May 2021.

It comes after the authority warned that “rogue landlords will not be tolerated” in the borough.

A total of 59 warnings were given to landlords who had rented out an unlicensed HMO property, with 43 of these notices resulting in fines, amounting to £207,500 in total.

A property needs an HMO licence if at least three people who are not from the same household but share communal areas are living there.  

Haringey Council has targeted landlords who do not have the correct licence through the use of Civil Penalty Notices (CPNs).

Cllr Sarah Williams, Haringey's cabinet member for housing services, private renters, and planning, said: “We will do everything in our power to protect our residents in the private rented sector in Haringey.

“Our HMO licensing scheme provides us with an even better platform to do this.

“Whilst we continue this journey to improve housing standards across the borough, we will fight for renters’ rights and ensure residents across Haringey live in homes that are well managed, of good quality and most of all, safe.”

The council added that rogue landlords risk not only being fined but also being instructed to pay back rent to tenants.