July began with claims that Mayor of Barnet Councillor Hugh Rayner had acted illegally towards tenants at some of the 19 properties he owned.

Evidence was brought to the attention of Mayor of London Boris Johnson that Cllr Rayner had failed to declare an interest when he chaired meetings to discuss major changes to private landlords’ payments.

GLA member for Barnet Andrew Dismore also told Mayor Johnson that Cllr Rayner had arrived unannounced at one tenant's home at 10pm "demanding" a lease to be signed, and drafted contracts permitting rents to be changed at any point during the year.

Cllr Rayner was cleared by a panel of councillors the following month.

Neighbours in Wellside Close, Barnet, were furious that their road had become a "car park" for people visiting the nearby Barnet Hospital, who parked in the road for free.

Rubbish trucks struggled to drive down the street, and householders feared an ambulance or fire truck would get stuck.

July also saw controversy over Barnet Borough Council’s members’ allowance scheme, which ran from August 2010 until March 2014.

The Times Series submitted 16 questions to the council about the scheme, including whether the council had complied with regulations governing members’ allowances, but received a short, obfuscatory response.

There was further trouble when councillors refused to approve the council’s accounts, over claims they were not given time to read through crucial documents.

The authority’s audit committee was due to vote on whether to approve the 2014/15 accounts at a meeting, but deferred its decision after councillors demanded more time.

At the end of the month, rugby club Saracens was accused of creating a "scandal" after it emerged the club owed more than £380,000 in unpaid parking permit payments.

The club, based at Allianz Park, Greenlands Lane, Mill Hill, had agreed to cover the costs of resident and visitor parking vouchers within a controlled parking zone, but had not paid the money due to a disagreement over the price with Barnet Borough Council.