A married couple have been fined £20,000 for renting out bedsits in a rundown house in Wembley without a proper licence.

Gharmesh and Gita Khatri ignored a rule by Brent Council that state all shared accommodation rental property with three or more people (all none-related) must pay for a licence which costs from £340.

The pair also failed to maintain the property in Forty Lane to an acceptable standard.

Landlords Ping Sheng was fined £5,713 for an unlicensed property in Chilcott Close, Wembley, and Nilam Haria was ordered to pay £9,485 for failing to have a licence for a property in Rose Bates Drive, Queensbury.

The licences were brought it last year in a council bid to stamp out substandard, squalid and overcrowded accommodation.

Cllr Margaret McLennan, lead member for housing and development at Brent Council said: “Licensing is good for everyone in Brent. It drives up standards in the private sector and ensures a good standard of living for our residents, whilst reducing anti-social behaviour and illegally dumped rubbish which can have an impact on property prices.

“While there are many good landlords in the borough who have licensed their properties, there’s still a significant number who haven’t and who are operating illegally.

“We are in the process of identifying and taking enforcement action against unlicensed properties and I’m happy to see that significant fines are being issued to landlords who do not comply with the law.”

To apply for a licence visit brent.gov.uk/prslicensing or call 020 8937 2384/5.

If you suspect that someone is renting out an unlicensed property in Brent, please report them anonymously by emailing prslicensing@brent.gov.uk or by calling 020 8937 2384/5.