"He told me he paid about 600 a month for a small, windowless bedroom on the ground floor. He works 12-hour shifts as a concierge in a luxury apartment block. He was one of seven or more unrelated people living in what should have been a three-bedroom terraced house, and he had been living here for six months. He didn't have to pay a deposit."
"All the tenants worked shifts in London and shared a kitchen and two bathrooms. There was no living or dining room, but there was a large kitchen the residents shared. The smoke alarms were not working, and nor were the landing lights on the first floor. On the first floor, another tenant opened the door to his bedroom, which had a feline litter tray outside. He was also eastern European and had been living there since 2017."
"This house was recently refused an HMO licence by Waltham Forest. It was visited unannounced six times over the summer by the housing enforcement team, and the landlord now claims he lives here with two lodgers. There is a public register for licensed HMOs in the borough, and this property wasn't on it. It's not known how many unlicensed HMOs there are in Waltham Forest, but enforcement officers often carry out intelligence-led inspections."
A terraced house in Leytonstone contained seven or more unrelated tenants living in spaces designed for a three-bedroom home. Tenants paid about 600 a month for small, windowless rooms and often worked long shifts in London. Shared facilities included a large kitchen and two bathrooms; there was no living or dining room. Safety failures included non-working smoke alarms and landing lights. One tenant kept a cat to deter mice. Waltham Forest refused an HMO licence for the property after multiple unannounced visits, and the council has pursued criminal prosecutions over unlicensed HMOs. Enforcement officers carry out intelligence-led inspections. The borough maintains a public register of licensed HMOs, and the property was not listed.
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