I'm sure they did. Thanks, Reddit strangers! One less apartment available to rent, but at least several internet users have more smug satisfaction.
The rules exist for a reason. The reason in this case is to prevent people dying in a fire. "But we're really short of flats in London" is not a good excuse for allowing landlords to risk the lives of their tenants to make a buck.
You're right that if it was the cheapest way of getting property then tenants probably wouldn't report. But if the whole thing is making property more expensive then I definitely would.
Recently on Reddit there were some screenshots of a ground-floor 'studio' flat that was entered through a window. It didn't have a door and was still quite expensive. That's illegal according to UK rules, and lots of people on Reddit happily reported it.