Seventeen people were found crammed in a three bedroom house in east London.
The shocking discovery was made after a series of morning raids in a bid to drive out “Dickensian” landlords from Barking and Dagenham.
In total, more than 50 adults and children were found living in seven properties across the borough.
Barking and Dagenham Council has vowed to root out “exploitative landlords” following the raids on Monday, January 18.
Council leader Darren Rodwell said: “We will not accept these appalling Dickensian conditions.
“We have standards in Barking and Dagenham, and we will not relent in our determination to uphold them.
“This will include driving out these exploitative landlords from our borough.”
Council officials found 17 people, including nine children, in a three bedroom house in School Road, Dagenham.
Three adults and a child were also discovered living in squalid conditions in an empty pub in Rainham Road, Dagenham.
The council has received £250,000 from the Government after it set up a licensing scheme to tackle rogue landlords.
Councillor Laila Butt, cabinet member for crime and enforcement, said: “This money is helpful. But the problem is London’s ludicrous housing and rental market, which is why we have exploitative, rogue landlords making a mint out of other’s misery.”
