Landlord hit with fine after 28 people found crammed into Stoke Newington house

Bunk beds: 28 people were crammed into the two-story terrace
Hackney Council
Tom Marshall10 July 2016
WEST END FINAL

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Twenty-eight people were found to be living squashed together in a terraced house in Stoke Newington.

The two-storey house had just one bathroom shared between the huge number of tenants, as well as a single kitchen and no fire alarms.

The property in Allerton Road had been divided into seven cramped rooms, including in the attic, which were filled with bunk beds.

The cramped, unsafe conditions were exposed after a dawn raid by police and council inspectors in October following a tip-off from neighbours.

A room in the attic 
Hackney Council

Landlord Alfred Landau has now been fined £20,000 after being prosecuted by Hackney council.

Landau, of Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, Stoke Newington, was also ordered to pay costs of £1,845 after admitting managing an unlicensed house at Thames magistrates’ court.

Cllr Philip Glanville, Hackney council’s housing chief, 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.”

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