A landlady found guilty of renting out an overcrowded, unsafe and unlicensed house has been fined almost £23,000.

Following a tip-off, Enfield council discovered Serrita Baidoo was operating a five bedroom House of Multiple Occupancy with 12 people living in it, including four children – riddled with damp, dodgy electrics and broken central heating, in St Peter’s Road, Edmonton.

Ms Baidoo, 33, was found guilty under the Housing Act 2004 at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on February 1 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,762.40 and a £170 victim surcharge during sentencing two weeks’ later.

The court heard there were significant safety hazards including insufficient fire safety equipment and alarm systems, broken central heating, significant damp and signs of mould growth in the property, overcrowding, an inadequate number of plus sockets which encouraged excessive use of extension leads and dumped building and domestic waste in the rear garden.

Enfield Council’s cabinet member for Housing and Housing Regeneration, Ahmet Oykener, said: “It is completely unacceptable for landlords to house families in conditions like this and we simply will not tolerate it.

“People have the right to live in warm, dry and reasonably spacious homes and the fact that the landlord in this case chose profit over providing good quality living conditions for her tenants is an absolute disgrace.

“I am delighted with the severity of the sentence handed down by the court and I sincerely hope it sends out a strong message that we will halt the provision of criminally poor quality private rental accommodation in this borough.”