Rogue landlord, Rajinder Singh Pander, has been hit with a huge £81,043.88 fine after renting out a “cramped” garden outbuilding at his rental property, despite repeated council warnings that it was unsafe and an order to demolish it.

Pander, of Windsor, Berkshire, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court, after Hounslow Council said he had illegally rented out an outbuilding at 16C Worthing Road in Heston.

The court was told a young family, including a child, had lived in the 25sqm building for around two years, before a nearby resident alerted the council.

The outbuilding failed to meet basic planning, housing and residential standards and was wholly unsuitable for people to live in.”

Hounslow said: “The outbuilding failed to meet basic planning, housing and residential standards and was wholly unsuitable for people to live in.”

It only had one bedroom, a kitchen, a living area and a bathroom and, according to the council: “Occupants were forced to live in cramped and substandard living conditions, giving rise to serious concerns about their health and wellbeing.”

It added that the landlord had ignored several communications instructing him that the building was unsafe for occupants. It then served him with an enforcement notice requiring it to be demolished, but said Pander “chose to ignore this, and continued renting the outbuilding”.

The judge deemed the offence to be at the higher end of negligent culpability.”

The judge deemed the offence to be at the “higher end of negligent culpability”. Pander was initially handed a £21,000 fine, later reduced to £14,000 to reflect a “one-third credit for a guilty plea.”

He was also ordered to pay £7,547.15 in legal costs, alongside a £59,496.73 confiscation order “earned during the period he rented the building out”, taking the total financial penalty to £81,043.88.

Councillor Tom Bruce, Deputy Leader of Hounslow Council, told Harrow Online: “This prosecution continues our clear message that we will not tolerate landlords who put profit before people’s safety. This outbuilding was wholly unsuitable for residential use and should never have been occupied.

“We always take robust enforcement action against those who choose to flout the law and undermine residents’ safety. If anyone has any concerns about any property in the borough, please report these to us as soon as you can.”

Image: Hounslow Council