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News: Tenants discovered living in cramped conditions following dawn raid

Fri, 08 Feb 19

Brent Council in north London looks set to take action against a buy-to-let landlord who is accused of “exploiting tenants” after  19 people, including two children, were found living in a four-bedroom semi-detached house on Nathans Road, Wembley, HA0, during a dawn raid earlier this week.

Enforcement officers forced entry into the house on Tuesday where they discovered a garage that had been illegally turned into two bedrooms with a makeshift partition wall between them; a shed in the process of being converted into what appeared to be another bedroom and smoke alarms in a state of disrepair.

The raid was a joint operation with police officers with whom the Council often carries out operations. Intelligence is shared between the Council, police and the UK Border Agency. Brent’s aim is to support tenants and prevent them from being exploited by rogue landlords.

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.”

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