Two landlords and a company director who housed tenants in an unsafe flat on an illegal tenancy have been ordered to pay more than £13,300.

Two landlords who housed tenants in dangerous bedsits in an illegally converted ex-council flat have been ordered to pay more than £13,300.

Muhammed Nazrul Haque, from Barking, owned the flat in Clifton House, on the Grade II listed Boundary Estate, which he rented to Whitechapel-based property agent Oceans Property Limited owned by Kamal Hassan Shumon.

An inspection of the property in Shoreditch by Tower Hamlets Council revealed the bedsits had no fire doors, disconnected smoke alarms, minimal fire safety information and an inadequate fire detection system.

Additionally, a council notice requiring a leaky shower to be fixed was ignored for six month which resulted in flats on the three floors below being damaged by water.

A council spokesman said: “Those living in the neighbouring flats were greatly inconvenienced by the leak.”

The flat’s water supply had also been disconnected, leaving tenants without water for 16 days.

The firm let each room in the flat out separately, changing the property from a family home to a house in multiple occupation (HMO) which requires a landlord licence.

However neither man had obtained a licence and claimed the other was responsible for meeting the legal requirements.

At Thames Magistrates Court both pleaded guilty to a total of 11 offences under the Housing Act 2004.

Haque was fined a total of £2,060, Shumon must pay 10,103 and Oceans Property Limited must pay £1,170.

The council has said the landlords received “significant income from tenants in a much sought after part of London”.

Tom McCourt, Tower Hamlets Council’s strategic director, said: “This case highlights the problems that can arise in unsafe and poorly managed HMOs. It is not acceptable for landlords to believe that their only obligation is to collect high rents for desirable locations and ignore their legal responsibilities to ensure their properties are well maintained and their tenants have adequate safety measures in place.

“Tower Hamlets has one of the fastest growing populations in the country, and as one of the smallest London boroughs, this combination puts huge pressure on the availability and quality of private rented housing.”