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0:02 AM, 1st September 2023, About 8 months ago 6
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Two private landlords who breached planning laws and ignored council warnings have been handed hefty fines of more than £250,000.
Ealing Council acted in the two unconnected cases after the landlords failed to follow planning rules and ignored the council’s planning enforcement team over warnings for properties in Southall and Perivale.
Ealing Council’s cabinet member for safe and genuinely affordable homes, Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, said: “Once again, these are great results for the borough. A big ‘thank you’ goes to our enforcement team, which worked tirelessly to investigate two landlords who put their tenants at risk by not meeting their responsibilities.
“In these cases, the landlords initially have three months to pay their confiscation orders and risk a default prison sentence if they do not pay.”
He added: “We know most of our landlords provide high quality, well-managed housing for local people, but we will continue to take robust action against those who do not.”
Zasar Khan, of The Broadway, Southall has been ordered to pay more than £125,000 for ignoring a planning enforcement notice at his property.
A council inspection in March 2019 found Mr Khan had built an unauthorised rear roof extension to his property and converted it into six self-contained flats, creating cramped and sub-standard living conditions.
Mr Khan was served with an enforcement notice requiring him to stop using the property as six flats and to remove the prohibited rear roof extension.
Although an appeal against the enforcement notice was made to the Planning Inspectorate, the appeal was dismissed in July 2020.
Following this, council officers gained a warrant to access the property and, in December 2021, found that it was still being occupied in breach of the notice, resulting in a court summons being issued.
In July 2021, Mr Khan was found guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court of failing to comply with the enforcement notice, and the case was referred to the Crown Court for confiscation proceedings.
In July this year, he was then ordered by Isleworth Crown Court to pay a Confiscation Order of £104,000, with £14,000 in costs and he was also given a £9,000 fine.
In a second case, Hafiz Imran, of Rydal Crescent, Perivale is now £130,000 worse off after failing to comply with a council enforcement notice.
The council notice required him to demolish the side and rear wrap-around extension at his property in Rydal Crescent, Perivale.
An appeal against the enforcement notice was made to the Planning Inspectorate, which it dismissed.
Following this dismissal, Mr Imran submitted six separate planning applications between 2011 and 2016, with two being approved and four being refused.
In January 2020, council officers found that the unauthorised side and rear extension were still there.
The team also found that Mr Imran had converted the side extension into a self-contained flat, without obtaining the relevant planning permission.
A summons was issued, and Mr Imran was found guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in December 2021.
Because Mr Imran had benefitted financially, the case was referred to the Crown Court for confiscation proceedings.
After some delays, in July this year, he was ordered by Isleworth Crown Court to pay a Confiscation Order of £100,000, with £30,000 in costs and given a £500 fine.
John Grefe
10:08 AM, 1st September 2023, About 8 months ago
You silly boys! Don't play with Private Housing in any Council as you won't win. The law is there to prevent this open abuse of the already fragile private renting market. Well done to both of those councils
Old Mrs Landlord
10:51 AM, 1st September 2023, About 8 months ago
Reply to the comment left by John Grefe at 01/09/2023 - 10:08On the contrary, I would suggest both have won in that they have benefited greatly from rent received over an extended period before the fines were eventually issued. The first case landlord has had rent from six flats from at least March 2019 until July this year, which surely in London must have exceeded the £129,000 fine. In the second case the illegal construction must have taken place some time before 2010 since the appeal had been dismissed prior to submission of six planning submissions starting in 2011 and continuing through to 2016, two of which were approved. Ten years later he was found guilty of failure to comply with the demolition order and finally in July this year, a confiscation order of £100,000 was issued with a fine of only £500. All those years of flouting the rules and playing the system with repeated planning applications to stave off enforcement must have paid off handsomely.
Dennis Forrest
12:33 PM, 1st September 2023, About 8 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 01/09/2023 - 10:51
This assumes of course that all this income has been declared for tax??
Assuming it has not been declared then HMRC will now be aware of the situation. Also, although I am not certain, I don't think Council fines are an allowable business expense so a further tax blow for these landlords.
Peter
13:01 PM, 1st September 2023, About 8 months ago
It's all in a name.
Blodwyn
15:39 PM, 1st September 2023, About 8 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 01/09/2023 - 10:51
BUT they now have 'form'?
Chris Jordan
17:13 PM, 3rd September 2023, About 8 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Peter at 01/09/2023 - 13:01
Exactly!