Six families have been found cramped in a cockroach-infested house in Wembley with many suffering from insect bites.
Brent Council raided the property in London Road on August 22 after neighbours complained of overcrowding, and found up to twenty-six people living inside the house.
In one room, two adults and two children were found to be sharing one bed between them, while in the back garden a family-of-six shared a bunkbed inside a crammed extension.
The enforcement officers also encountered disrepairs, damp, mould, blocked fire escapes, dumped rubbish, rat-eaten furniture, swarming flies and hundreds of cockroaches.
Placid Winson D’Costa, a waiter who pays £650 a month in rent, said: “We have bites all over us. In the night, it’s even worse. There are thousands of them and they are everywhere - in the bed, in the fridge, in the cupboards. And they are growing.”
Cllr Harbi Farah, cabinet member for housing and welfare reform, said: “This is one of the most tragic cases of poor living conditions in the private rented sector within Brent.
“These vulnerable families have been cheated by a landlord who is well aware that he is housing people in squalor for a profit. The council won’t stand for it.”
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