A landlord who illegally converted a house to squeeze 28 tenants into just seven rooms has been handed a £20,000 fine after enforcement action by a London council.

Hackney council claims Alfred Landau ignored basic safety standards at the overcrowded home – installing no fire alarms and leaving residents with only one kitchen and bathroom between them.

Council investigators and police discovered the conditions at the terraced house, made up of two storeys and an attic, after a dawn raid in October last year.

Landau, of Stoke Newington in London, was fined £20,000 and made to pay costs and charges of £1,845 after pleading guilty to managing an unlicensed house of multiple occupation.

“The lack of any basic fire safety at this jam-packed property put lives at risk, and this maximum fine serves as a warning that we won’t stand by when we see unsafe conditions in Hackney’s homes. We’re determined to drive up standards for private renters and we won’t hesitate to take enforcement action and press for the strongest penalties for landlords who flout the rules” says a council spokesman.