The Mayor’s ‘Rogue Landlords and Letting Agents Checker’ is available for use by members of the public, who can see information about whether they have been prosecuted or fined by ten London boroughs, with details of cases from the remaining boroughs to be added shortly.

Firms that are named on the list include Foxtons, which was fined £35,000 – a record – by the Borough of Tower Hamlets after failing to provide requested documentation for a rental property in Whitechapel.

The largest fine for a residential landlord on the list stands at £150,000, after a prosecution by the London Fire Brigade. This followed a major fire at a block of flats owned by the landlord in Westminster in 2011, with a subsequent investigation revealing a series of fire safety breaches.

The database includes a ‘report a rogue’ tool, allowing tenants to flag up complaints about landlords or agents directly.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said that with all local authorities now signed up to the checker it was clear that shady landlords and agents would have “nowhere to hide”.

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He continued: “The rental market in the capital is difficult enough to navigate without a small minority of rogue operators exploiting their tenants. This tool will empower Londoners to make an informed choice about where to live. I’m confident this will be a major step in tackling unscrupulous and illegal practices in the rented sector.”