Interesting Article.

[Melboy]

Landlord hit by record £1.4m court bill over planning breach-

A private landlord has been ordered by a court to pay £1.4m and warned that if he does not pay up within six months, he could go to jail for ten years.

Salah Ali, 52, of Wembley, turned a house in Willesden Lane, north-west London, into 12 flats without planning permission.

A judge at Norwich Crown Court ordered Ali to pay a fine of £4,000 for breaching planning regulations; legal costs of almost £35,000; and a confiscation order of £1.438m.

A restraint order was also made which prevents him from disposing of assets before paying up.

Brent Council will receive 37.5 per cent – around £500,000 – of the confiscation order. The other 62.5 per cent will go to the Treasury and the court collection agency.

The council said the £1.438m order, made using powers available to local authorities to recover the proceeds of crime, is believed to be the highest confiscation order for a planning offence anywhere in the country.

The figure was based on a calculation of the rent that Ali is believed to have received from tenants living in the property.

Chris Walker, Brent Council’s assistant director of planning, said: “This landlord ignored planning rules designed to ensure that the quality of accommodation in the borough is maintained and that the environment for surrounding residents is protected.

“He ignored the council’s notices and as a result he profited hugely from this sub-standard accommodation.

Will he pay up? I doubt it!

[Richlist]

Will he pay up? I doubt it!

He'll do what most people would do in that situation....he'll appeal and get the fine significantly reduced.

[Melboy]

Jeez! Some landlord's do deserve a good slap.

This Guy would have been given at least 2 opportunities to correct any shortfalls in his property to bring it up to HMO standard.

He will suffer for his stubbiness in not complying.

No sympathy from me though.......none whatsoever!

A Norwich landlord has been ordered to pay £40,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) after pleading guilty to nine breaches of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) regulations.

Norwich City Council, which brought the prosecution, has become the first local authority in the country to use POCA against a landlord who failed to comply with license conditions.

Joseph Howman let a house on Unthank Road as ten bedsits with shared bathrooms that posed a number of hazards to its tenants, Norwich Magistrates' Court heard last Friday.

In November 2010, Norwich City Council inspection officers who called on the property found that rooms had no heating, the main bathroom had no hot water, the communal bathrooms were dirty, the fire doors were in poor condition with many not working, and there were electrical hazards, including hanging wires and defective lighting.

On top of the POCA costs, Mr Howman, of Grosenvor Road, was fined £5,000 plus £135 victim surcharge and £8,500 costs, which brought his total bill to £53,500.

The £40,000 POCA bill will be divided up between various bodies. The money goes firstly to the Treasury, which keeps 50% of it. Of the remaining 50%, 12.5% goes to the courts to cover admin fees with the remaining 37.5% being split 50/50 between the investigating and the prosecuting authorities. In this case, Norwich City Council was both the investigating and the prosecuting authority so will receive the whole 37.5% (£15,000).

This is known as the Home Office Incentivisation Scheme, and is designed to encourage law enforcement agencies and local authorities to bring proceedings under the POCA.

Ellen Spencer, private sector housing officer, said: "Norwich City Council is committed to making sure private tenants live in safe houses which meet legal standards. In this case the landlord risked the safety of tenants by cutting corners and refusing to make improvements.

"We are pleased that the court recognised the serious nature of the offences and hope that this will send out a message that rogue landlords will not be tolerated in Norwich."

[Richlist]

In November 2010, Norwich City Council inspection officers who called on the property found that rooms had no heating, the main bathroom had no hot water, the communal bathrooms were dirty, the fire doors were in poor condition with many not working, and there were electrical hazards, including hanging wires and defective lighting.

Dirty bathrooms eh ? How awfull........Mmmm I suspect there are quite a few of them up & down the country along with rooms without adequate heating and electrical hazards. Perhaps the Government can fix the deficit by imposing large fines on landlords who don't comply with the rules.

A good start would be EPC certificates........nobody I know bothers with them.

[Carryon Regardless]

"A good start would be EPC certificates........nobody I know bothers with them. "

I think you will find that those who have bothered just possess pointless pieces of paper. I've got eleven of them and it's only A's that request sight when promoting the property for rent. T's haven't a clue they exist. Their value NIL.

Let 'em go for the LL's that put they're T's at risk. But let's recognise that like the motorist we are easy targets and not always penalised justifiably.