TWO landlords have been prosecuted after council officers found the property they were renting out was unlicensed and infested with cockroaches.

Compulsory licensing of all houses in multiple occupation (HMO) was introduced by Oxford City Council in 2012, which means that anyone renting a property to groups of three or more students or professionals must be licensed, have regular inspections and pay a fee of at least £362.

After an inspection, the city council said officers found that there were no fire measures in place at the property on Blackbird Leys Road.

They also found that the three-bedroom maisonette was overcrowded, with 12 people living there.

This included three children. The council said the people were living in damp and mouldy conditions with a heavy cockroach infestation.

City councillor Ed Turner, deputy leader of the city council, said: “The council has a responsibility to help protect the vulnerable and ensure that people who are renting do not live in these conditions.

“The HMO scheme works to tackle this and the team are working hard to find those landlords who think they can evade the system.”

The city council said landlords Felix Valentim Da Conceicao and Ventura Valentim Da Conceicao, who live in Blackbird Leys Road, pleaded guilty at Oxford Magistrates’ Court.

The court fined each of the men £2,500, and told them both to pay £500 costs and a £50 victim surcharge when they appeared on Monday, January 20.