Slum landlord is caught cramming 19 tenants into his four-bedroom semi and even splitting the garage up into rooms to make £4,000 a month
- Council officers raided house in Wembley, north London, yesterday morning
- Found residents, including two children, in cramped and unsafe conditions
- Also found a shed that was in the process of being converted into two rooms
A slum landlord who crammed 19 tenants into a four-bedroom semi and had even illegally split his garage into two rooms to make £4,000 a month has been busted by investigators.
Enforcement officers raided a house in Wembley, north London, yesterday morning and found the residents, including two children, living in cramped and unsafe conditions.
Brent Council’s licensing team also found a shed in the process of being converted into what appeared to be another bedroom and smoke alarms in a state of disrepair.
Enforcement officers raided this four-bedroom house in Wembley, north London, yesterday morning, and found 19 people inside. Pictured is a shed in the back garden
There was an illegal wall inside the garage (pictured) separating two rooms. One of them (left) didn’t have a window
The raid was a joint operation with the Met Police with intelligence contributions by the UK Border Agency. Pictured: One of the crowded rooms
A council spokesman said: ‘An investigation has started to determine the people responsible for severe overcrowding and other housing management offences at the property.
‘There were up to three people, including the owner of the property, who may be responsible. They will either be prosecuted or face fines of up to £30,000 for each offence if found guilty.
Tenants of these landlords may be able to claim their rent back through the Rent Repayment Order (RRO); the amount they can expect from RRO is a maximum of the previous 12 month’s rent.
Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said: ‘A landlord making £4,000 a month from exploiting tenants like this is committing an offence.
‘We won’t hesitate in taking action against people who continue to treat tenants badly and provide homes that are unsafe.
‘Our licensing scheme is clear. It requires landlords to meet certain standards and a landlord or agent who rents out to tenants without a licence is breaking the law.’
The raid was a joint operation with the Met Police with intelligence contributions by the UK Border Agency.
The enforcement officers found these mattresses stacked up inside the shed, which was being converted
Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said: ‘A landlord making £4,000 a month from exploiting tenants like this is committing an offence’
The house pictured from the front before it was targeted by enforcement officials in the pre-dawn raid