Officials found people living in “appalling” cramped squalor, forced to sleep on mattresses and garage floors. As a result, 21 illegal shed homes have been shut down by Oxford City Council and 31 enforcement notices served on landlords in the past 18 months. Cabinet member for housing Linda Smith said: “Oxford has the highest proportion of private rented homes in the country and every private tenant should have a decent roof over their head.

“Conditions in some of these beds in sheds are appalling and we won’t accept this.”

She urged people to contact their local council if they suspected people were living in sheds.

Oxford launched its crackdown in January last year, after securing a £274,942 government grant, which paid for extra staff.The council used aerial thermal imaging to find garages or outbuildings with heat levels that indicated people could be living in them.

The outbuildings, often constructed without planning permission, pose a danger to those living there. They don’t meet fire or safety regulations and lack heating, hot water and basic sanitary facilities.

This month the team found someone living in a badly built lean-to behind a house. There was no toilet or kitchen facilities, and the only heat source was a portable electric heater. The main house was also found to be an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO).

In another case, the team found a garage at a semi-detached house in the Rose Hill area of the city had been converted into living accommodation. The only kitchen facility was a microwave oven.

The landlord was served with a prohibition order after the property was found to be unsafe, with electric and fire hazards, food safety issues, and a lack of insulation and heating.

It is a criminal offence not to comply with a prohibition order. The funding for the crackdown was provided by a government Controlling Migration Fund, which aim to stop migrants being exploited by rogue landlords.

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