Letting agents who crammed 11 tenants in to a shared house licensed for just seven people to live in were fined more than £20,000.
Jarvis Properties, Reading, Berkshire, managed the three-floor house in multiple occupation (HMO) in the town for landlord Abdul Shiekh.
Following a complaint from a tenant, council housing officers swooped on the house to find the overcrowded living conditions.
Their investigation also disclosed the fire alarm did not work, fire doors and emergency lights were broken, and fire safety notices did not direct tenants to a safe escape route.
Exposed electrical wires were found in a shower room, while sewage was leaking through a ceiling on to a communal stairway from a blocked toilet.
Reading Council licensed had licensed the house for seven tenants in July 2009, but 11 tenants were living there at the time of the inspection.
The letting agents, Jarvis Properties, were fined after admitting failing to properly manage the HMO, failing to comply with health and safety conditions required by the HMO license and failing to provide information about the property to the council.
Sheikh was also fined £500 and ordered to pay £215 costs after admitting he failed to provide information about the property to the council.
Reading Council’s Assistant Lead Councillor for Neighborhood and Housing Richard Davies, said: “Raising the standards of housing is a top priority for the council, including rental properties in the private sector, and this case should act as a deterrent to a minority of irresponsible landlords, as well as letting agents.”
After the case, Jarvis Properties said: “More help should be given to landlords across the borough to raise standards if this is indeed the intention of the council. Many landlords and investors have already left the HMO market and we fear many more will do so in the future due to excessive red tape.”
