A garage in Clapton, East London was being rented out as a flat at over £1,000 a month, reports the Hackney Citizen.
Council officials discovered two people living in the property, which had been advertised as a studio flat, but was not a habitable dwelling.
It has now been closed as a residential property after Hackney Council found the inhabitants living in inadequate conditions.
Until the deceit was spotted the rental income was over a grand a month, a huge fee for a space, which should only really house motor vehicles.
The garage did not meet basic safety and planning rules. One wall was actually just some wooden shutters, which would have given cars access, if the structure was used for its original purpose.
Additionally the space didn’t have decent heating, security and insulation. Without basic amenities the “flat’ didn’t meet building regulations.
The garage had damp problems, concrete floor and poor heating and kitchen facilities. So one would assume what most garages in the UK look like from the inside.
The fact that two people were willing to pay such an inflated fee to live in this area of East London must raise questions on the limited amount of affordable housing stock in the capital.
Cllr Philip Glanville, Deputy Mayor of Hackney, said: “Those who seek to exploit the demand for housing in Hackney to rake in cash through illegal conversions like this should not doubt that we will follow through on our warnings of enforcement action.
“This landlord had barely made any attempt to meet even the basic standards we expect, and we’ll continue to monitor this property to ensure it can’t be used again in this state.
“We will prosecute those who break the law when necessary and always press for the strongest penalties.”
