The BBC is to broadcast another investigation into the property sector, this time examining the problem of unlicensed HMOs in London.

Following its controversial probe into allegations of conditional selling within the estate agency sector earlier this month, landlords and agents running HMOs will now be put under the spotlight, the broadcaster says.

To be aired on Friday at 8pm on BB1, the programme is called For Rent: Rooms Under the Radar and will look at how weak council enforcement of mandatory and additional HMO schemes in many areas means HMOs often go unlicensed ‘for years’.

Back streets

Reporter Tara Welsh, who has also investigated dodgy leasehold practices in the past, will look ‘behind closed doors and in back streets’ to reveal the black-market housing crisis and how its spreading.

“Thousands of people across London are thought to be living in unlicensed HMOs… properties where three or more unrelated people share bathrooms and kitchens.

“Many of these HMOs fall under licensing schemes designed to ensure safety and proper management, yet remain unlicensed and unregulated for years.”

The promotional material for the programme adds that the programme will interview “tenants living in overcrowded and illegal homes – including those without contracts, privacy or proper facilities”.

This will include a man who lived in a two-bed flat with 20 others where a fatal fire broke out, and a family of four squeezed into one room in another property and also look at how some landlords are ‘profiting while breaking the law’.

The show will only be available in London.