London councils received 291 complaints about suspected Renters’ Rights Act breaches in the first four months of the new rules but issued just six fines worth a combined £60,120, new Freedom of Information data from Witan Solicitors reveals.
The requests covered 1 May to 31 August 2026 across all 33 London local authorities. Eighteen councils provided figures, with Barking and Dagenham and Brent the only two to have issued final civil penalties in the period. Eleven further notices of intent have been sent, signalling more fines in the pipeline.
Early enforcement is concentrated but the warning for owners letting in the capital is plain: the first penalties include the maximum £40,000 award for unlawful eviction and harassment, alongside £5,000-plus fines for paperwork failures that busy landlords might otherwise treat as minor.
Barking £40,000 fine tops first RRA penalties
Barking and Dagenham issued four penalties worth £53,120 in total. The largest was a £40,000 fine for unlawful eviction and harassment, the highest civil penalty available to councils under the new rules.
The same council fined two landlords £5,120 each for failing to provide written statements and other prescribed information. A further landlord was fined £2,880 for failing to provide required Renters’ Rights Act documentation. Brent issued two penalties worth £7,000 in total.
Councils have also sent 11 notices of intent, the first formal step towards a fine. Barking and Dagenham sent four, while Brent, Southwark and Tower Hamlets sent two each and Enfield sent one. Qarrar Somji, Solicitor-Advocate and Director of Witan Solicitors, said six fines may look low but many complaints will still be under investigation. “A £40,000 fine is a sharp reminder of how quickly things can go wrong for a landlord under the new rules,” he said.
Unlawful eviction reports dominate complaints
Barking and Dagenham received the most complaints at 59, followed by Hounslow with 50, Redbridge with 45, Lambeth with 44, Enfield with 22 and Camden with 16. The 291 total covers 17 councils, with Croydon unable to give an overall figure and some councils reporting by breakdown only.
Where councils gave a breakdown, unlawful eviction or harassment accounted for around three in four reports, with 244 cases. Problems with written statements and information sheets were second with 25 reports. There were 10 complaints about rent in advance or pre-tenancy payments, and five each about rental bidding, discrimination and misuse of possession grounds.
Somji said paperwork fines should get particular attention. “Interestingly, some of the fines were for paperwork. Not giving a tenant a written statement or the government’s information sheet has cost landlords more than £5,000 in some cases,” he said. “Unfortunately, these are exactly the kind of mistakes that are easy to make when you’re busy.”
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on the first Section 21 ban penalty in Gateshead, where a landlord was fined £3,600. The London figures point to a wider pattern, with councils elsewhere also moving from warnings to formal penalties and penalties reaching £35,000 in Bristol. The full Witan findings are set out in the firm’s FOI report on London Renters’ Rights Act breaches.
What this means for landlords
- If you let in London: check every tenant holds a written statement of terms and the GOV.UK Renters’ Rights Act information sheet itself, not just a link – two fines above £5,000 turned on that point.
- Watch for: notices of intent already issued in Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Enfield – you have 28 days to send written representations, and appeals go to the First-tier Tribunal.
- Bottom line: informal move-outs are now high-risk; with Section 21 gone, use a Section 8 notice on a valid ground and keep copies of everything.
Editor’s view
Six fines from 291 complaints will tempt some landlords to treat enforcement as toothless. That reads the numbers wrong. Councils are logging the complaints, issuing intent notices and starting with the clearest cases. Paperwork penalties above £5,000 show the bar for a fine is lower than many expected.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 06 November 2026
Sources: Witan Solicitors FOI data, London borough councils
Related reading: Gateshead fines landlord £3,600 in first Section 21 ban penalty
📘 Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
Everything you need to know about the new rules – 1 May 2026
