A couple have been ordered to pay more than £30,000 for renting rooms in an unlicensed shared house.

Mr and Mrs Shah, from Falcon Way, Harrow, were prosecuted by Watford Borough Council for running an unlicensed house of multiple occupation (HMOs), in Stratford Road.

The unscrupulous pair rented rooms to up to 12 tenants at a time in the four storey house but failed to register it with the council, despite numerous requests over a two year period.

This meant vital safety checks may not have been carried out and also resulted in overcrowding.

Both were convicted of running a house of multiple occupation without a license and each handed hefty fines by magistrates.

They were also ordered to pay legal costs – bringing their total penalty to more than £30,000. Mayor Dorothy Thornhill, said: “Watford Borough Council will continue to protect tenants by making sure homes are safe and healthy. The law surrounding the running of HMO’s is clear. “Our Environmental Health officers did all they could to encourage the couple to work within the law but they simply would not cooperate.”

Under the Housing Act (2004) owners of properties where tenants live in five rooms or more over three stories or more must be fully licensed.