A rogue landlord stuffed a filthy and dangerous three-bedroom house – with 26 mattresses.
Officers found more than 20 men living in ‘appalling and unsafe’ living conditions and could barely enter the house because mattresses were ‘jammed up against the doors’.
The council said it was ‘one of the worst’ illegal HMOs it has ever uncovered.
This is the scene inside an overcrowded house in Brent, north west London where a rogue landlord was renting out his three-bedroom house to 20 men at a cost of £1,000 a week
Every room in the property – apart from the kitchen and bathroom had at least one bed
The landlord had even fitted a ladder into the loft so additional people could sleep in the space
Police are now hunting the rogue landlord, who was taking home £1,000 a week from his despicable racket.
Every room in the illegal HMO, except for the kitchen and bathroom, contained bed spaces – including the ‘tiny, windowless’ loft space.
Police and Brent’s enforcement team raided the three-bedroom semi-detached house in Kingsbury, north west London, in the early hours of this morning.
The raid was prompted by complaints from residents about the number of men seen coming and going from the house in the suburban street of Princes Avenue.
The disgusting conditions, for which the men were paying between £30 and £50 to live in, also had faulty smoke alarms, poor ventilation and fire hazards.
Brent Council officials conducted a dawn raid on the property early this morning
The bathroom, pictured, was one of the only rooms not to have a bed installed
The men had a make-shift living area set up outside in the back garden, pictured
A spokeswoman for Brent Council said it was ‘one of the worst’ illegal HMOs it has uncovered.
She said: ‘Aside from seeing rodents or cockroaches it is one of the worst we have seen.
‘The loft was just appalling – really awful conditions.’
Councillor Eleanor Southwood, cabinet member for housing and welfare reform, said: ‘We have a zero tolerance policy against landlords who exploit tenants by housing them in slum-like conditions.
According to council officials the house was infested by rodents and cockroaches
Each of the men were paying between £30 and £50 a week in rent to the landlord
Some of the furniture from the house had been removed to the garden to make room for beds
‘No tenant in Brent should believe that they are powerless against a landlord who takes their money in exchange for squalor.
‘We are here to help tenants fight back against rogue landlords by taking them to court.’
From October 1, any property that is rented out to five or more people who are not all related will require a mandatory licence.
The men were forced to try their clothes from washing lines erected across the living room
Councillor Eleanor Southwood, cabinet member for housing and welfare reform, said Brent Council had zero
From October 1, houses rented to more than five people who are not all related have to be registered with the local authority and hold a mandatory licence
The house’s bathroom was covered in discarded clothes and rubbish