A Hampstead landlord has been fined thousands of pounds for letting a property to multiple tenants without a licence.

Grenfell Gordon Royce, 66, of Meadowbank in Primrose Hill, was fined £2,700 yesterday at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay Camden Council’s £1,700 costs.

The council said he let a South Hill Park property as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) without the correct licence – despite being told in August of last year to acquire one.

Housing officers also discovered a “dangerous staircase” and fire safety concerns – including a lack of smoke alarms, a dangerous light fitting and fridge freezer wiring that passed through a wall to another room.

Councillor Pat Callaghan, Camden’s cabinet member for housing, said the council will “catch up” with landlords who ignore warnings.

He added: “All landlords should keep their property to a safe and liveable standard – not only to maintain public confidence in landlords, but so that tenants paying high rents are not exploited.”