Rogue landlord fined more than £15,000 for planning breaches
Hayes Landlord Tarsem Dhillon admitted three charges of failing to comply with an enforcement notice when he appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court earlier this month.
Rogue London landlord Tarsem Dhillon has been fined more than £15,000 after he admitted three charges of failing to comply with an enforcement notice when he appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.
The court was told how Hillingdon Council’s planning officers had visited 11 and 15a Station Road in March 2021 after being notified that a storage building, 15b, at the back of the properties (main picture) had been altered illegally and was also being used as a house of multiple occupancy (HMO).
PERMISSION
The first floor of the building had two shower rooms, a kitchen and toilet and an external door had been built and metal railings installed onto the roof of the extended first floor of the building to create an amenity space for residents, but without planning permission.
At 11 and 11a Station Road, inspectors found a single-storey side extension had been built, also without planning permission.
The court heard the council issued enforcement notices on 9 March 2021, seeking the cessation of use as HMO at 15b, along with the removal of the door and railings. An additional enforcement notice was issued for 11 and 11a ordering the removal of the extension.
INSPECTIONS
The notices came into effect on 20 April 2021 and required compliance by 20 July the same year. The court was told follow-up inspections from the council on 1 February this year (2023) revealed none of the three notices had been complied with.
We’re determined to create safe, strong communities where residents can live a high quality of life.”
Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, says: “This is another brilliant result reflecting the hard work of our planning enforcement team.
“We’re determined to create safe, strong communities where residents can live a high quality of life and we’ll take all action necessary to tackle rogue landlords who flout the rules.
“Any residents who suspect a property of being used illegally can anonymously let our planning enforcement team know and they will investigate.”
Dhillon was fined £12,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and the council’s court costs of £1,660.
It’s the tiny number of criminal landlords like this one that give councils the excuse to persecute all of us who are sticking to the rules and looking after our tenants properly. The authorities hate us because we own property regardless of how hard we have worked and saved to get it. Giving tenants more rights to abuse the system and using net zero as another cosh to hit landlords with will result in the worst housing crisis this country has seen since 1948. Politicians should concentrate on cleaning up the failing Housing Associations and start building to replace the Social Housing stock that Thatcher flogged off cheap. In the meantime the PRS is saving their miserable skins and should be treated with the respect and appreciation it deserves.
Proper action by the Council,
They did well to find a ‘rogue Landlord,’ as there are very few around.
How many Rogue Tenants have the council prosecuted ?