A landlord who housed a tenant in an illegal flat has been fined. Shashibhushan Vyas rented out the “squalid and dirty” home to a renter for six years. Inspectors discovered the flat hidden in a side extension that Vyas had added to his property.
Vyas was caught after a neighbour informed the council that the extension was being rented out. It transpired that the extension had illegally been turned into a separate flat in 2007.
At a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court earlier this month, Vyas was fined £115,500 for the illegal conversion. Councillor Tom Bruce, the council’s lead for regeneration and development, said he was proud of the local authority’s planning team for taking action against Vyas, MyLondon reports.
He said: “Many of the residents who live in these appalling conditions are vulnerable and do not have the resources to challenge their landlords. I am proud of the work the council’s planning enforcement team has done in this case; enforcing this breach of planning regulations and addressing the substandard conditions that the tenant was having to suffer.
“Every resident in this borough has a right to live in comfortable and safe homes and it is important that landlords and others know that we are fully prepared to pursue those who do not follow planning rules.”
Officials have taken action that has led to the improvement of 3,900 homes in Hounslow over the last four years, according to the council. It claims around 12,000 local residents have been helped by measures the local authority has taken. In the last year alone, the council’s planning enforcement team has closed down 25 unauthorised properties and secured the demolition of 68 illegal extensions through the courts.
