Horrifying photos have been released of an illegally rented house with rat droppings, grime, mould and blocked fire exits.
Slough Borough Council issued images of the HMO (House in Multiple Occupation), capturing the "filthy" and "unsafe" conditions.
The landlady of the home in Slough has now been hit with a whopping £14,500 fine for leaving her tenants to live in such dangerous and squalid conditions, reports Berkshire Live.
Lateef Bibi pleaded guilty to six offences at Reading Magistrates' Court on September 30 under the Housing Act 2004 and the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Regulations Act 2006.
And a few weeks before the warrant in January, she advised officers over the phone that the property itself was not being rented out, but was owner-occupied.
Consequently, she was fined the huge sum and has been forced to pay a £190 victim surcharge as well as full costs of £2,950.
Following a tip-off from Thames Valley Police about a possible HMO operating in poor conditions, the property was thoroughly searched by the council's housing regulation officers in January.
Eight council officers then went on to search the property, and found it had been converted into a seven-bedroom HMO.
It has been revealed that Bibi had been taking cash in hand for the rent, as she was unable to produce electricity and gas safety certificates when asked by officers.
The property was found to have external padlocks on bedroom doors, poor bathroom and kitchen facilities with missing base units.
Inside one of the bedrooms, mould can be seen on the wallpaper, which has been half ripped off the wall. The basics lay inside, with the majority of the room being taken up by washing drying alongside the window.
Horrifyingly, rat droppings were found cluttered around the kitchen cupboards. And another picture shows the greasy cooker with dirt and oil surrounding the tiles, while unwashed and mouldy pots and pans lie nearby.
There were also cracked floor tiles and no fire door or adequate fire safety in place, it was reported.
Damp and mould covered the communal parts of the property and bedrooms, while the small rear garden was cluttered - with old and rotten furniture which restricted fire exit routes.
Speaking about the condition of the home, councillor Pavitar K Mann, lead member for housing and planning, said: “Our residents have a right to live in safe and habitable homes. This blatant disregard for tenants’ safety and the law is unacceptable.
“The prosecution is a positive result for the council and goes to show the need for landlord licences to ensure landlords are regulated in providing quality homes so tenants can live in safe conditions.
"It also shows the council’s commitment to investigating rogue landlords to ensure residents in private rented accommodation are safe and secure in their homes and landlords are held accountable.”
Operating a property - which is required to be licensed - without a license is an offence, and is punishable by either a civil penalty of up to £30,000. Or, more severely, an unlimited fine on conviction in the Magistrates’ Court.
For Slough, there are three licensing schemes operating and within these, all HMOs are required to be licensed.
