Newham says its deadline to apply for a licence is at the end of this month and to take control of landlords’ property if they don’t apply in time.

The council says it will be stepping up its enforcement and inspection visits in September and will take action against any landlord with an unlicensed property.

Along with having control of their properties removed, landlords could also be facing a rent repayment order of up to 12 months’ rent to the ‘Council or their tenants’.

Carleene Lee-Phakoe, the council’s cabinet member for housing needs, homelessness and private rented sector, said: “Renters in Newham deserve to live in safe, well-managed and well-maintained homes, and that’s what our pioneering Selective Licensing scheme aims to ensure.

“I’m grateful to the majority of our landlords who have successfully applied for a license, and call on those who still need to apply to take action now.

“Our teams will be out and about in September to check for unlicensed properties, so I encourage anyone without a license to get their application in without delay.”

The last selective licensing scheme ended in February which saw 42,000 properties being licensed and 70% of these were subject to audits or visits.

The council found 2,620 licence breaches between 2018 and July this year and 387 fines of between £5,000 to £30,000 were handed out.