A council that has been ramping up its enforcement action against rogue landlords and agents is facing enormous numbers of complaints about damp and mouldy conditions within its own housing stock.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has received 11,955 complaints from tenants in just 17 months. Council leader Jane Ashworth (pictured), though, claims the authority wants to “raise the quality of housing across the city” and declares homes should be “a place of comfort, shelter, safety and warmth; a place to raise family, welcome friends, and a springboard for all our other daily activities.”

Our home is not just a dwelling place. It should be a place of comfort, shelter, safety and warmth.”

The council’s record, though, as a landlord, paints a very different picture. The Housing Ombudsman Service found four cases of maladministration against the council last year and one case of ‘severe’ maladministration involving vulnerable children left in damp and mouldy conditions.

The cases, which also included failures to handle repairs and complaints properly, resulted in the council having to pay £5,773in compensation to affected tenants.

Boosting income through fines

At the same time, Stoke has been taking an increasingly tough stance on rogue landlords and letting agents and has recently announced plans to boost income by increasing its fines. According to the Stoke Sentinel, this could generate up to £100,000 per year from 2026/27. The council currently issues between 15 and 25 formal notices, civil penalties and prosecutions against private landlords per year.

As a result of the crackdown, Landlord Lee Challinor was recently hit with an £11,800 fine for operating an unlicensed house of multiple occupation and two other landlords were fined almost £1,800 for breaching licensing requirements.

The Council counters that it has launched various programmes to address its housing problems, including a £117 million investment over five years.