Couple rented out ‘grossly overcrowded’ flat with 23 people living in it where tenant died in fire

A couple who rented out a ‘grossly overcrowded’ flat where a tenant died in a fire could face a fine after being convicted of housing offences.

An estimated 23 people were living in the two-bedroom ex-council property at Maddocks House in Shadwell, east London, when the blaze broke out in March 2023.

Dad-of-two Mizanur Rahman, 41, died from smoke inhalation during the fire, which was found to have been caused by a faulty e-bike battery.

Sofina Begum, 52, and Aminur Rahman (no relation to the victim), 55, charged tenants around £90 a week, former residents said, suggesting the couple may have earned up to £9,000 a month from the property.

A total of 18 beds, including some bunk beds, were crammed into the flat, though some tenants reportedly slept on the kitchen floor.

Tenants were told not to use the flat as a postal address as it could get the couple in trouble, a court heard this week.

The husband-and-wife landlords also failed to allow regular inspections, did not have a current gas certificate and failed to produce required documents.

After the fire, Rahman told a Tower Hamlets Council officer that he rented the flat to two people and he did not know who the other occupiers were.

After one of the occupiers told the officers he paid rent to Rahman, the landlord ‘claimed not to speak English and the conversation ended’, prosecutors for the council said.

Begum, whose name was on the licence, has pleaded guilty to six offences including knowingly permitting unlicensed occupation, four counts of failing to comply with licence conditions and failing to comply with the requirements of a licence notice.

Rahman, who collected the rent and was the person responsible for the property, has pleaded guilty to one count of each of these three offences.

The couple are set to be sentenced not on the fatality or the fire, but on the housing offences, the presiding judge said. This could mean a fine.

They blamed a ‘rogue manager’ helping manage the property, called Mr Raja, but prosecutors say this is Mr Rahman.

Harun Matin, defending, said: ‘What the two defendants put forward is that they knew there were more people than permitted to be – however, they had no knowledge of the actual number of people staying.

He said the couple ‘accept that they failed in their obligations’ but that their behaviour was not due to deliberate deception.

The couple were unconditionally bailed to appear at the same court for sentencing on March 6.

Investigations into the fire are still ongoing and a civil matter has previously been lodged.

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