Rogue landlords could be fined up to £30,000 under plans to drive up the standards of privately rented housing.

People will have to apply for licences if they want to rent out properties in the borough in a scheme drawn up by Enfield Council.

The conditions of the licences mean they will be expected to manage their properties and deal with disrepair and antisocial behaviour.

If they fail to do so, they could be prosecuted or hit with civil penalties.

Two licensing schemes have been proposed – a selective licensing scheme and an additional licensing scheme.

Selective licensing, which will apply to 14 wards, covers properties let out to a single household.

Additional licensing for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) – where several people share amenities but are not part of the same household – will cover the whole borough.

Just over a third of properties in Enfield are estimated to be privately rented after the sector’s size tripled over the past 20 years.

But the council says there is evidence of “significant levels of poor housing conditions, deprivation, anti-social behaviour” in privately rented accommodation.

While the council is already able to carry out enforcement action against rogue landlords, it relies heavily on complaints from people living in poor conditions.

The licensing scheme is designed to stop problems from occurring in the first place by ensuring homes are well maintained.

While the scheme was backed by more than 85 per cent of residents who responded to a consultation, support from landlords was considerably lower.

Almost three quarters of landlords disagreed with selective licensing, and more than half disagreed with HMO licensing.

Licences will cost £600 per property for a selective licence and £900 per property for an additional (HMO) licence, and they will run for up to five years.

A team of inspectors will visit properties to check they are being kept in good condition.

The plans were agreed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday (January 22), meaning the schemes can go ahead if they are approved by the Government.

Cabinet member for licensing and regulatory services Cllr George Savva (Labour, Haselbury) said: “These proposals will improve housing conditions in the private rented sector, raising housing standards and improving the lives of residents.”

Cllr Savva added the scheme was “not a profit-making exercise” and would support good landlords who already manage their properties well.

Cllr Mahtab Uddin (Labour, Upper Edmonton) welcomed the plans but asked whether landlords might pass the fees on to tenants by raising their rents.

Doug Wilkinson, the council’s director of environment, said: “Through the extensive work we have done on research and benchmarking with other local authorities, there is no evidence to suggest these fees get passed on to tenants. Rent fees tend to be market-driven”.

The wards where selective licensing will be rolled out are: Bowes, Edmonton Green, Enfield Highway, Enfield Lock, Haselbury, Jubilee, Lower Edmonton, Palmers Green, Ponders End, Southbury, Southgate Green, Turkey Street, Upper Edmonton and Chase.