A property managing agent who crammed 16 people into a house has been fined £26,000 by a council.

Viktoriia Stroieva, director of Maxvik Ltd, used ‘ghost tenants’ as a front for her rent-to-rent scam at a property in Eastfield Road, Walthamstow.

The company, which is based in Ilford, applied to Waltham Forest Council to register the house as a single-family dwelling.

After officers grew suspicious and began to look into the case, they found that the address was in fact being let as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), with up to 16 unrelated tenants.

The council was handed tenancy agreements between the landlord and named tenants which were found to be false.

The ‘ghost tenants’ were not living at the property and were instead being used as a front for the scam.

In addition to the dangerous overcrowding and inflated rents, officers discovered serious defects to the fire alarm system which could have endangered the lives of people living in the house.

The council issued a £26,000 fine to Ms Stroieva which she initially appealed but withdrew before the scheduled tribunal hearing.

She has agreed to pay the fine for breaches of licensing and housing management laws.

Edzus Eisaks of Rhodesia Road, Leytonstone, was convicted of providing false information to officers investigating this case.

He was fined £500 on top of costs of £3,000 for his part in the scam at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, October 4.

Cllr Louise Mitchell, Waltham Forest Council cabinet Member for Housing, said: “Everyone needs a decent roof over their head. However, there are people who choose to exploit that need for their own personal profit and greed.

“In this case, a property that could have provided a wonderful home for a young family was instead used to pack in 16 unrelated people, all of whom had to share woefully insufficient bathroom and kitchen facilities while the property’s fire alarm system fell into disrepair.

“The council’s property licensing scheme protects residents from those unscrupulous landlords and letting agents who care more about profits than the safety and security of their tenants.”