Two government ministers visited Southall to see how the council is tackling the problem of people living illegally in outbuildings.

Council Leader Julian Bell was accompanied by the Housing Minister Grant Shapps and Immigration Minister Damian Green on the morning of Tuesday 28 August 2012.

The council had to apply to Ealing Magistrates to obtain warrants to allow officers to inspect 11 addresses to check whether landlords were renting out poor quality housing, or forcing tenants to live in overcrowded conditions.

The council executed warrants at six properties in Montague Road with the assistance of police and the UK Borders Agency. The remaining 5 addresses will be targeted in coming weeks.

Officers carried out inspections to check whether people were living illegally in outhouses and whether there were any hazards, such as dangerous wiring or poorly maintained gas boilers in the properties.

They also checked whether the properties should be licensed as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) – a requirement for some addresses where there are many tenants.

The council is in the process of serving prohibition notices on the landlords of all six addresses, banning anyone from living in the outhouses until any defects or hazards identified are corrected. Those served with the notice have 28 days to comply. If the landlord does not comply, they be prosecuted – the maximum fine is £5000 per offence.

Council leader Julian Bell said: "We’re doing everything we can to tackle this issue and have created a special team dedicated to investigating illegal outhouses, but we need more funding and greater powers."

"We’re one of the boroughs leading the way in dealing with this issue, so I’m pleased ministers came out on our operation to see exactly what councils are up against."

"This year we’ve received a one-off £280,000 grant, but given the magnitude of the problem and the sheer amount of resources that have to go into each investigation, we hope the government will give us more funding to tackle the issue. We also need the regulations to be tightened up so that it’s easier for us to bring prosecutions and more difficult for rogue landlords to find loopholes in the law, and we need those found guilty to face much tougher fines."

The council is also continuing with other investigations at each of the properties with a view to possible prosecution.

One landlord is being investigated on suspicion of breaching management regulations at a licensed house of multiple occupation (HMO). If successfully prosecuted they face a maximum fine of £5000 for each offence.

The five other landlords, suspected to be unlicensed HMOs, are also under investigation. If successfully prosecuted they face a maximum fine of £20,000 for failing to license an HMO.