Two landlords in London have been handed hefty fines for breaching planning laws and ignoring warnings from Ealing Council.
The two cases, which are not connected, resulted in fines and court fees of more than £250,000 for failing to follow planning rules and ignoring instructions from the council’s planning enforcement team at properties in Southall and Perivale.
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 Khan, aged 49, 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 national 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, 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, £14,000 in costs and 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 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, Imran, aged 45, 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 was still there. The team also found that Imran had converted the side extension into a self-contained flat, without obtaining the relevant planning permission.
A summons was issued and Imran was found guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in December 2021. Because 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, £30,000 in costs and given a £500 fine.
Cllr Bassam Mahfouz, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for safe and genuinely affordable homes, 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.
“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.”
