A dawn raid by the Brent Housing Enforcement Team in west London found 11 people crammed into a rundown three-bed semi without an HMO (house in multiple occupation) licence.
Officers were reportedly “disgusted” at the “squalid” living conditions experienced by the tenants, who told the licensing enforcement team that they were paying a combined rent of more than £2,000 to their landlord.
Enforcement officers entered the address in West Hill, Wembley, along with police, following a tip-off from eagled-eyed residents. They found tenants sleeping in every room inside the house, except for the kitchen and bathroom.
The inspection revealed that the property had no fire safety doors and no fire alarm system, damp and black mould covering the walls and ceilings inside the rooms and a polystyrene ceiling giving way inside the kitchen.
Cllr Promise Knight, Brent Council cabinet member for housing, homelessness and renters’ security, said: “It is shocking and horrifying that rogue landlords make a profit from keeping people in dangerous and slum-like conditions like this.
“People in vulnerable circumstances tend not to know what rights they have as renters.
“Rogue landlords who exploit their tenants’ vulnerability will find themselves facing hefty fines and possibly a criminal conviction. We will use whatever powers we have to hold them to account.”
