Councillors have pledged to crack down on rogue landlords who are ripping off vulnerable residents in Barnet.

Labour and the Conservatives have backed proposals to tighten tenant safeguards by linking a hotline to report unscrupulous landlords to the council’s environmental enforcement team.

They also pledged to use civil penalties to prosecute offenders and commission a working group to identify where in the borough the selective licensing scheme will have the most impact.

Selective licensing means would-be landlords must apply for a license if they want to rent out a property so the council can ensure they are a “fit and proper person” to do so.

At a meeting of Barnet Citizens Assembly on Wednesday evening (March 14), a Middlesex University student recounted her experiences after moving into a new property without a functioning toilet.

The landlord had charged each of the four tenants £600 in fees to rent out the property but refused to carry out the necessary repairs.

The students were threatened with eviction if they continued to complain about the state of the house.

Labour leader councillor Barry Rawlings pledged to recruit 30 police officers to accompany environmental health officers on visits to rogue landlords by council enforcement teams.

He also promised to bring in a tenants’ charter to ensure people are aware of their legal rights in respect of rogue landlords.

Council leader Richard Cornelius, a Conservative, also gave his backing to the proposals, pointing out that a tenant hotline already exits and calling for it to be given greater publicity.

A spokesperson for Barnet Citizens said: “Barnet Citizens welcomes the commitments from Cllr Cornelius and Cllr Rawlings to tackle rogue landlords as well as celebrate our good landlords in Barnet. We were delighted to have clear commitments to work with us on our three proposals.”

Joe Cox, vice-president of Middlesex University Students’ Union, added: “I was really impressed by the willingness of both Councillor Rawlings and Councillor Cornelius to meet with us last night and engage with our action plan for better housing in Barnet.

“Across the borough we are seeing communities of people having their lives ruined by bad housing, which is why it was so exciting to see these two political leaders commit so clearly to exploring the idea of selective licensing, with Cllr Rawlings promising to do this as soon as elected and Cllr Cornelius agreeing to explore the idea and keep Barnet Citizens informed of what they find.

“It was also great to see them both commit to pursuing rogue landlords through civil penalties, and committing to setting up proper, functional reporting structures for tenants who believe that their landlords are acting criminally.”