Almost three quarters of a million people are living in unsafe or unsanitary shared homes because rogue landlords defy rules meant to improve the standards of rented accommodation.

At least 375,000 such tenants are in homes with a potentially life-threatening fault, analysis by The Times shows.

The figures come after two men died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at an unlicensed house in multiple occupancy (HMO) in north London. At least seven people lived in the four-bedroom home in Edgware. Five others, including two children, were taken to hospital.

A home in multiple occupation is defined as a property that has at least five people from two or more families living in it. They are often home to students, young people and migrants and