A couple have been ordered to pay over £10,000 after sub-letting a property. The house was unlicensed and over-crowded, but the case was brought because the tenants failed to provide information. There has been no prosecution of the agent or landlord.

Daniel and Alima Borzos of Wembley, London, were ordered to pay a total of £10,334 by Willesden Magistrates Court.

The defendants rented the four-bedroom property though an un-named letting agency after telling staff that they and their small child would live there.

They then sub-let the property to a group of other tenants.

When Brent Council enforcement officers raided the property in April they found a total of 16 mattresses in the house, and it is thought that over 20 people were living there.

The court found the couple guilty of failing to provide evidence of their tenancy and fined Mrs Borzos £7,000 and Mr Borzos £2,000, while each must pay costs of £497 and a victim surcharge of £170.

They have now left the property.

A Brent council spokesperson told EYE that the couple had not been prosecuted for overcrowding or licensing issues, but for failure to provide information.

The spokesperson said: “They completely stonewalled our requests for information about the house and sub-tenants and prevented our officers from talking to the sub-tenants.

“That meant that we simply weren’t confident that we had enough legal-standard evidence in place for a prosecution, despite an abundance of real-world evidence that severe over-crowding was taking place.

“The letting agents and owners cooperated fully with us and stated that they had not been to the house since letting it to the Borzos, who did so under false pretences. As they are not legally obliged to visit the property we did not have enough evidence to prosecute.”

The latest prosecution means that a total of 35 rogue landlords have been successfully convicted since January 2016, under a licensing scheme which aims to improve standards in the private rental sector in Brent.

Cllr Harbi Farah, Brent cabinet member for housing, said: “This case once again demonstrates the importance of Brent’s private sector licensing scheme.

“While there are many good landlords in Brent who have licensed their properties, there’s still a minority who haven’t, who are operating illegally and exploiting people for profit.

“We will always push for the strongest penalties against unlicensed properties in Brent, so we’re pleased to see rogue landlords like the Borzos receive a substantial punishment.”

Since the start of this year, the council has considerably increased its enforcement activity, with between two to five prosecutions each week, and many more raids and prosecutions are expected in the coming months.