Landlords Fined Over Illegal Lets & Safety Breaches

A judge has ordered a landlord couple to pay £270,000 for illegally letting a property without planning permission for an outhouse built in the back garden and four cramped flats.

Amarjit Singh, 54, and Jasbinder Kaur, 45, of Hounslow, West London, were ordered to pay £250,000 at Isleworth Crown Court to repay income generated from charging rent on the five illegal units.

Singh and Kaur were also fined £10,000 each and told to pay costs of £4,480.

Housing officers visited the converted home in Yiewsley, Hillingdon, West London, after a tip-off that a converted outhouse was being let as a flat without planning consent.

A planning enforcement notice ordered the couple to return the house and outbuilding to their original condition.

The notice was ignored, so the couple were charged with two offences of breaching planning laws. They both admitted the offences at Uxbridge Magistrates Court in February last year. The case was referred to the crown court for sentencing.

Meanwhile, the property has been converted back to a single semi-detached home.

Hard-up landlord failed to licence 29 flats

Landlord Olawunmi Odunaiya blamed cash flow problems for failing to license 29 flats she owned in a selective licensing neighbourhood.

Odunaiya owned 33 of 40 flats in a block in Loughborough, Leicestershire, but had only licensed four.

She denied renting unlicensed homes at Leicester Magistrates Court but was found guilty of the offences. Odunaiya was fined £29,000 and ordered to pay a £11,600 victim surcharge and £6,960 in court costs, totalling £47,560.

The court heard she intended to pay the £700 licence fee for each flat but was short of cash at the time as she had to fund repairs to the exterior cladding and carry out fire safety works.

Odunaiya was found not guilty of another charge, as the property involved was sold in 2021.

Peter Oliver, the council's director of housing and wellbeing, said: "While we will work with landlords, we will also act against those who fail to comply with any licensing scheme to support and protect tenants.

"The defendant in this case was aware of the licensing scheme and had ample time to obtain the necessary licences but failed to do so."

Fined for not renewing HMO licence

Magistrates fined landlord Kevin Sutton, 57, was ordered to pay fines and costs of £6,000 for failing to renew a house in multiple occupation licence (HMO).

Housing officers called the home and found five students were living in the shared house.

Sutton admitted the offence at South Derbyshire Magistrates Court.

Landlord ducked court cast

Landlord Ramzan Ali, 31, was ordered to pay £2,000 fines and costs after failing to produce a tenancy agreement and a gas safety certificate demanded by housing officers in Derby after the tenants raised safety concerns.

Ali did not attend the hearing at South Derbyshire Magistrates Court and was found guilty in his absence.

Councillor Shiraz Khan, cabinet member for housing, strategic planning and regulatory services, said: "Our housing standards team works tirelessly to improve living standards for private renters in Derby, with their safety and wellbeing being a top priority."