A rogue landlord who let out overcrowded, rat-infested properties in Hounslow has been ordered to pay nearly £40,000.
A total of 16 people were found crammed into a house and outbuildings at 33 Station Road, Hounslow, which was rented out by Din Dyal Verma. They included a family with a six-month-old baby living in a garden shed.
Din Dayal Verma, of Bath Road, Hounslow, was convicted at Feltham Magistrates Court on June 26 of 14 housing offences, after being prosecuted by Hounslow Council.
The 75-year-old returned for sentencing on Tuesday (July 8), when he was fined £24,500 and ordered to pay £14,732 in costs and charges.
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran said: "Hounslow Council has a zero tolerance approach to these slum landlords who are preying on some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
"It's outrageous in the twenty first century people have to live in these Dickensian conditions but I can assure residents we will not relent in our war to wipe out these modern day slums from our borough.
"I can also reiterate the council's commitment to providing 3,000 affordable homes in four years, 400 of which will be council homes."
The court heard how council officers had encountered filthy and cramped conditions at the property, including raw sewage and dead rats in the rear garden, when they turned up to investigate.
They found 10 people living in the main house and six within illegal outbuildings in the garden, including a family with a young baby who have been rehoused by the council.
The property had poor fire safety arrangements, filthy kitchens and bathrooms, and people living in the attic, which was unfit for human habitation.
The property was not licensed as a house of multiple occupation (HMO), as is required by law to ensure homes are properly managed.
Verma is the third landlord to have been prosecuted by the council for housing offences since April.
Bulldozers were brought in by the council in April to demolish the three illegal outbuildings at the property. It was one of the first times a council has used its powers under The Housing Act 2004 to demolish outbuildings used as so-called 'beds in sheds'.
