Landlords who let out punishingly small spaces the size of a converted cupboard to desperate renters face unlimited fines as part of a new crackdown.
From this month people who live in unsafe and overcrowded houses will enjoy greater legal protection.
This summer there was outrage when a “modern small self-contained studio flat in the heart of Hampstead village”, on offer for £1,100 per month on spareroom.co.uk, turned out to be a tiny single room with barely four feet of space between the bed and the kitchen sink.
In Beckton, east London, a four-bedroom house was discovered to have been fitted with 11 sleeping spaces, including one in a 3ft by 6ft understairs cupboard, while bunk beds were crammed into single rooms.