Landlord fined £20k after 28 tenants housed in seven rooms

A landlord who illegally converted a house to accommodate 28 tenants into seven rooms has been handed a £20,000 fine after enforcement action by a London council.

Investigators from Hackney Council and the police discovered the overcrowding following a dawn raid at the house in Allerton Road in Stoke Newington in October 2015.

According to the local authority, the landlord, Alfred Landau, “ignored basic safety standards” at the home, “installing no fire alarms and leaving residents with only one kitchen and bathroom between them”.

Landau, of Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, Stoke Newington, was fined £20,000 and made to pay costs and charges of £1,845 after pleading guilty to managing an unlicensed house of multiple occupation at Thames Magistrates Court last month.

Cllr Philip Glanville, Cabinet Member for Housing at Hackney, said: “The lack of any basic fire safety at this jam-packed property put lives at risk, and this maximum fine serves as a warning that we won’t stand by when we see unsafe conditions in Hackney’s homes.

“We’re determined to drive up standards for private renters in Hackney, and we won’t hesitate to take enforcement action and press for the strongest penalties for landlords who flout the rules.

“Those who seek to take advantage of London’s housing crisis for personal profit have no place in our borough.”