Brent Council has confirmed that the government has approved its request to extend the local selective licensing scheme.

The local authority, which is one of the most active when it comes to prosecuting criminal landlords and letting agents, will extend its licensing scheme to five additional wards from June 1.

The selective licensing scheme will then cover eight local wards and up to 10,000 households. 

Brent Council says it has now won 125 prosecution cases against criminal landlords, agents and sub-letters since 2016. 

The convictions have resulted in more than £730,000 in fines and the authority has already issued more than £100,000 worth of civil penalties against offenders since they were introduced last September.

“This is great news for thousands more of Brent residents,” says Councillor Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform. 

“Brent Council is driving up housing standards in the private rented sector and cracking down on rogue landlords.” 

“We are hoping that the government will agree to extend selective licensing across more wards in the near future.” 

From June 1, landlords and agents in the Dudden Hill, Kensal Green, Kilburn, Mapesbury and Queen’s Park areas will be required to apply for a licence for each privately rented property they manage.