We study the statistical properties of a general class of two-dimensional hyperbolic systems with singularities by constructing Banach spaces on which the associated transfer operators are quasi-compact. When the map is mixing, the transfer operator has a spectral gap and many related statistical properties follow, such as exponential decay of correlations, the central limit theorem, the identification of Ruelle resonances, large deviation estimates and an almost-sure invariance principle. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we give two applications to specific systems: dispersing billiards with corner points and the reduced maps for certain billiards with focusing boundaries.