Shocking London 'Beds In Sheds' case leads to bill for £42,000

A landlord is almost £42,000 worse off after repeatedly ignoring council orders to stop illegally letting so called “beds in sheds” in an outbuilding at one of his rental properties in Southall, west London.

The severity of the fine Mubashar Ahmed was given reflected the fact that he had already been prosecuted for the same offence in 2012 and - according to Ealing council - was “well aware that he was breaking the law.”

Ahmed, from Slough, pleaded guilty at a trial at Ealing Magistrates Court and was ordered to pay a fine of £40,000 - this was reduced after his guilty plea from £60,000.

He was also ordered to pay the full costs of £1,672 and a victim surcharge of £170 – a total of £41,842.

The case began in 2010, when an Ealing council investigation established that a garage at Ahmed’s property in the borough had been illegally converted into a residence and let to a tenant. 

The council issued a planning enforcement notice ordering Ahmed to undo the conversion, which he ignored.

In 2012 the council prosecuted Ahmed for failing to comply with its request, and after being found guilty and fined, he changed the building back into a garage and the case was closed. 

The enforcement notices remained on the land, which meant that renting out the garage again would be an automatic criminal offence.

After suspicions were raised during a routine visit to the house by council officers, an early morning raid on the outbuilding in April 2018 found clear evidence that Ahmed had again breached the planning enforcement notice and was letting it as accommodation.

At his second trial, the magistrates were not satisfied with the details that Ahmed provided about his personal income, which is used by courts to determine the severity of fines. 

Ahmed did not initially mention the £3,700 monthly income he receives from his three rental properties. The magistrates also stated that the fine at his previous prosecution in 2012 had been very lenient.

An Ealing council spokeswoman says:“It’s always shocking to hear of ‘beds in sheds’ cases like this, where unscrupulous landlords think they can get away with cramming tenants into unauthorised outbuildings. Having been previously convicted of exactly the same crime, Mr Ahmed would have known very well that what he was doing was against the law. Having blatantly ignored our instructions, he then tried to deceive the magistrates by concealing his income. As well as a hefty fine to pay, Mr Ahmed now has a criminal record.”