Landlords warned over rising cases of sub-letting

Landlords renting properties in Maidenhead and other UK regions need to be wary of their flats and houses being illegally sub-let by the tenant, it has been claimed.

Eviction company Landlord Action has recorded a 15 per cent increase in cases of overcrowding in rental properties, particularly in London.

Commenting on the rise, director Paul Shamplina underlined the seriousness of the problem in some cases.

He said: "The most common cases appear to be organised gangs looking for an easy money-making scam.

"The worst case we have dealt with was a three-bedroom, one-bathroom, semi-detached house in north London which was found to have had 53 occupants, all illegal immigrants."

His comments come as an inquiry by the Evening Standard newspaper reveals that hundreds of council tenants are illegally sub-letting their homes in London.

It emerged that 12 of the local borough councils in the capital have caught more than 1,000 people committing this type of fraud in the last five years.

Article Date:18/01/2010