London Landlord prosecuted over illegal flats

A landlord has been prosecuted for "squashing" seven flats into a development that had planning permission for six. A London council found the size of the flats to be below minimum standards. Five of the flats contained no dedicated storage space and three of them had extra unauthorised bedrooms. The flats were let as temporary accommodation and short-term holiday lets, which had not been authorised by the council and resulted in the loss of permanent accommodation.

The council said the "constant coming and going" of different parties resulted in noise and disturbance to local residents. The landlord had been ordered to demolish the unauthorised flats or correct the development so that is met with the original planning permission. The council also said for the landlord to stop using the flats for temporary accommodation. The court said that the landlord illegally gained £230,000 in rent and ordered to pay a proceeds of crime confiscation order of this amount. The landlord would also face 2 years in prison if the confiscation order is not paid within 3 months. Additionally the landlord had to pay £13,000 for other fines and costs. The development is now operating in compliance with the planning permission.

This emphasises the importance of obtaining the necessary planning permissions before carrying out any change of use.