A London landlord has been hit with a £280k fine after ignoring orders to destroy insubstantial housing built in an outbuilding.
The landlord, David Kohali of Hornsey Road, Holloway, had been renting the property as six small flats sometime before 2009. He was ordered by the council to stop using the flats in the same year, and to remove the kitchens and bathrooms, but ignored the order.
The gravity of the fine reflects the Government’s push to clamp down on so-called rogue landlords. Authorities have been under pressure from housing associations to better enforce the minimum standards of landlords – to provide incentives for those performing well and greater prosecutions for those found to be failing to adhere to their obligations.
Between 2009 and 2013, Kohali continued to defy other enforcement notices from Islington Council, as well as the planning inspector, and continued to rent out the illegal flats.
Consequently, Islington Council began proceedings for a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act for money made illegally through renting out the flats.
A judge at Blackfriar’s Crown Court ruled in favour of the council and ordered Kohali to pay £280,000, which is thought to be one of the largest fines imposed on a landlord.
James Murray, Islington’s housing chief, said: “More and more people in Islington are renting privately – and the housing crisis is so bad that desperate tenants are vulnerable to being exploited by rogue landlords.
“We want to make sure people have decent places to live – not places like these six small, sub-standard flats crammed into an outbuilding.
“We will take action against property owners like this who are trying to cash in on Londoners’ desperate search for housing by offering accommodation that floats the rules or is too small to live in.”