Zero tolerance, zero names

Hackney Council has gone “zero tolerance” on rogue landlords, with a beefed-up enforcement team of more than 50 officers and a promise to seek “the biggest fines and strongest possible penalties”. The opening salvo? One £30,000 fine, issued to one landlord, for fire safety failings. Which landlord? The press release is too polite to say. Tolerance may be zero, but discretion is still available. Mayor Zoë Garbett declares it’s “time our justice system was made to work for us”, while deputy mayor Dylan Law takes aim at the “billions transferred directly from the government to private landlords” – a line that may raise an eyebrow or two in the council’s own temporary accommodation office. Renters, meanwhile, are encouraged “to know your rights”. Somebody at the Town Hall should be encouraged to know their grammar.