A BBC documentary shining a light on thousands of illegal HMOs in London has highlighted how overstretched councils are failing to enforce the rules.

Unlicensed HMOs are rife in parts of the capital, the BBC found, leaving tenants living in overcrowded homes.

In the programme, which was aired last week, reporter Tarah Welsh met tenants who don’t have rental agreements or proper facilities.

Fatal fire

She hears from a man who lived in a two-bed flat with 20 others where a fatal fire broke out, and from a family of four squeezed into one room.

The documentary entitled For Rent: Rooms Under the Radar exposes how some overstretched councils are struggling to enforce the rules, even when serious breaches are reported.

One London borough reports 3,000 licensed HMOs, but estimates the actual total of HMOs to be two or three times that number.

Undercover

An undercover Panorama investigation broadcast last month revealed how conditional selling was practised at a Connells branch in Abingdon in Oxfordshire.

It included evidence of recorded phone calls, that the company’s employees were involved in conditional selling.

Whistleblower

A reporter spent six weeks working at Connells during which she found evidence that the senior branch manager favoured prospective buyers if they were planning to take out in-house services, like conveyancing or mortgages.

The programme also spoke to a whistleblower at Purplebricks, who alleged the firm at one point incentivised its staff via a commission scheme to “get sellers to drop their house prices” after initially over-valuing them, and had been putting staff under pressure to sell ‘add-on’ services.

Watch the For Rent: Rooms Under the Radar documentary here