Barnet Council has now issued more than £200,000 in fines to landlords renting out properties illegally.

In the most recent case, two companies and a company director who rented out property in Finchley without having the correct licence in place have been fined more than £6,000 in the courts.

This is the eighth case of the council moving to prosecute illicit landlords who failed to licence or manage their properties in the last 18 months.

Uptown Properties, its director Rodrigo Chenkel and Stratford-based estate agent YLR Ltd had divided a house in Gainsborough Road, near Woodside Park, into five bedsits housing seven people.

One of the rooms was rented for £350 per month despite measuring four meters squared and the total yearly income Chenkel and the two companies gained from the house was £34,320.

Chenkel and the companies were charged with failing to licence the property and were found guilty of failing to licence a house in multiple occupation (HMO) in nearby Gainsborough Court.

Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius, said: “We are really pleased with this positive result.

“This latest prosecution sends out a clear message unscrupulous individuals cannot hide behind their companies to avoid being convicted.

“It is our job to protect tenants’ safety and we will take appropriate enforcement action if landlords fail to obtain a licence or manage their properties.

“I am pleased the courts are supporting the council in this approach through the sentences and fines issued.”

Fines to the defendants totalled £6,490 fines, with £2,854 costs and £220 victim surcharge awarded.

Landlords of certain HMOs need to apply for a licence from Barnet Council and failure to do so will result in the council taking enforcement action.

Even when landlords apply for a licence after the fact a prosecution may still be taken.

More than £20,000 worth of rent has been reclaimed from landlords by their tenants in two of the cases Barnet Council has taken up.

The council has data on over 2,000 HMOs in the borough who have been contacted regarding their licence application and have failed to apply.

Targeted enforcement action has already begun on these properties and landlords have been urged by the council to submit their application now as a priority.