There has been a sharp increase in the number of complaints about private landlords made to Islington Council, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
Data released in response to the request showed that the council received 715 complaints about private landlords in 2022, and 795 in 2021.
These numbers represent a sharp increase from before the pandemic, with 439 complaints in 2019. This means that there has been a 62% rise in complaints to landlords between 2019 and 2022.
The data comes as Islington Council promises provisions to protect private renters in the borough through a Private Renters Charter.
The charter, announced via the council’s website on Tuesday, includes proposals to “set out inspections and fines” for private landlords who do not provide safe and decent accommodation.
Other provisions include rights for private tenants to have pets in their property, and to make “reasonable adjustments” to the property they are renting. For their part, landlords will be required to give a minimum four-month notice period to remove tenants from a property.
The charter also seeks to increase protections for vulnerable people, directly stating that “people with disabilities can stay in temporary accommodation until all adaptations are finished on their new homes”.
There will be a consultation period for renters and residents to comment on the draft proposal, which will end on 26 March.
The news has been welcomed by many Islington residents. Flora Pick, a 22-year-old sales executive, who has been renting in Archway for the past year, said that she is “glad that something is being done; we are existing in a rental crisis”.
Pick was skeptical as to whether the charter would be an eventual success stating, “how much will this actually change anything?”
Commenting on the increase in complaints about private landlords, Pick said “it’s both surprising and unsurprising… it seems like landlords are asking for more money but aren’t paying more attention to the problems.”
In a statement on its website, the council said that the charter “aims to improve property and management standards” as well as to “give more access and choice for people on lower incomes”.
Islington Council’s housing chief, Una O’Halloran said that the bill would “make private renting fairer” and that the council was working hard to protect renters’ rights.
In Islington, 27% of housing is privately rented property, with data from money.co.uk suggesting that the average rent in Islington is £1,700 per month and that 59% of income is currently spent on rent.
In October 2022, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, told the BBC that he would be asking the government for powers to set up rent controls in London and to create a commission that would include both landlords and tenants in order to address current problems surrounding renting in the capital.
