26th
Sep 2016
A landlord has the dubious honour of receiving a record breaking massive fine, because he decided to illegally convert his property into nine flats without being granted planning.
On Wednesday 28th September at Wood Green Court, the rogue landlord was given a £700,000 fine because of contravening the 2006 council's orders telling him that he would not be granted permission to convert the property.
As the landlord decided to ignore the warning the council had no other recourse than to serve an enforcement notice in March 2007, they then took legal action.
Finally when the property was confiscated as the landlord was finally found guilty of planning offences, its Corporate Anti-Fraud Team (CAFT)undertook a thorough investigation of the landlord's income from the nine flats. The team was able to calculate an approximate sum that the landlord had illegally made from the property.
The court ordered the landlord to pay back £555,954.49 which was the calculated sum of profits derived from the illegal conversion. He was also slapped with a £65,000 fine for committing the planning offences together with a bill for £80,000 legal fees.
The landlord was warned that failure to comply with the court's ruling by not paying the fines within a three month timescale, would lead to a penal sentence of five years and four months.
Councillor Richard Cornelius, the Leader of Barnet Council, said: "I am delighted that after a lengthy legal battle, the justice system has supported us in making sure that anyone who flouts our planning laws is suitably punished.
He continued: "Planning permission rules exist to ensure everyone in our borough has a safe and healthy place to live, and we cannot allow anyone to breach these rules by providing substandard accommodation. We will always do our best to ensure that this illegal activity is stopped as soon as possible."
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