A landlord who illegally converted a London home into two flats without planning permission has been given a prison sentence after failing to pay almost £130,000.
Akram Hussain of Walthamstow has been jailed for 280 days for failing to settle the confiscation order, which was originally issued to the him in 2017.
The case dates back to 2011, when officers from Barking and Dagenham council ordered Hussain to stop using the property as flats and return it to a family home.
He failed to do so, and the council started legal proceedings.
At the time, an investigation by enforcement officers uncovered Hussain had received more than £1,900 per month in rental income from the two flats.
Earlier this month Hussain was sentenced at the City of Westminister Magistrates’ Court; the confiscation order, for the sum of £129,755.15, remains in place until it is paid in full.
Councillor Margaret Mullane, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, says: “Let this be a clear warning to any landlord who thinks they are above the law – you aren’t. We will continue to pursue rogue landlords and take action against the small minority who put profit ahead of people. The council will always take a stand against those who look to exploit our residents.”
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Will he still have to pay the fine? Will his property be confiscated and sold on to someone who needs it? What happened to the tenants, will their money be returned?? Will he be out in have the time for good behaviour? Yes, questions. The only message this sends, it takes eight years to get this through the courts.
who khows but i think the courts are way out of line for doing that i mean the guy was providing housing for people where is the crime in that gime a break
Unbelievable. Its a crime now to change a house into two flats without planning permission. The council never educate anyone on planning permission and all of a sudden everyone is deem to know or face jail sentence. If this is not suppression , i dont know what is. Where in the world does the court expect a landlord to have 130k in hand to pay? This also clearly states the jealousy behind a lot of people when it comes to anyone having more than one property or providing decent housing to others when they themselves cant be bothered to save and pay for their own house let alone two. everyone ecpect a freebie in this country. It seems that the penalty for failing to know the law or having the money to pay for ignorance is a higher crime than others base on the judgment
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