TWO rogue landlords have been fined for failing to licence a house where seven people were rescued from a fire.
Owner Wimalendran Jeyaruban and letting agent Chaudry Amir Ijaz have both been ordered to pay £3,000 for failing to register the property in London Road, Thornton Heath, as a house in multiple occupation (HMO).
Seven people were led to safety by firefighters after a blaze at the flat in January. Five others from a neighbouring property also had to be rescued.
An inspection by council housing enforcement officers found there were five people living in the flat at the time of the fire, all of whom paid £150 per month to Ijaz.
Ijaz, of Bensham Lane, Thornton Heath, did not have a HMO licence, which is required by law when there are more than three unrelated people renting a property.
Jeyaruban, of Langdale Road, Thornton Heath, has agreed to empty the unlicensed flat in 2012 after the council discovered it was being used as a HMO.
Instead he let it out to Ijaz who in turn rented it as a HMO despite the warnings given by the council.
Both defendants were found guilty of running an unlicensed HMO.
In addition to the fines, they were ordered to pay the court £2,500 in costs.
