BEDS IN SHEDS
Huge fines for
‘Dickensian’
renting
A crackdown by Ealing Council has led to
a series of prosecutions of rogue landlords
– two of whom were slapped with enormous
fines in court, reports Quinton Drawbridge.
T
he landlords repeatedly
ignored council orders to
stop renting so-called ‘beds
in sheds’ outbuildings to
people at their properties.
One of the landlords was fined
a total of more than £465,000 for
flagrantly disregarding the council’s
request to pull down the unsafe
outhouses, which were being illegally
rented out to up to five tenants.
Another landlord was fined almost
£42,000 for letting outhouses built
illegally at their rental property.
The first fine also reflected the
fact that the landlord could
not prove that their
income over the
previous six years
was legal, with
their case being
considered
under the
Proceeds of
Crime Act
2002. If they do
not pay the fine
(by a date set by the court) they could
go to prison for four years.
A specialist team of council planning
enforcement officers regularly patrol
the borough to spot cases like this,
and consequently other cases are also
in the pipeline.
‘TRAGEDY TENANTS ARE
BEING EXPLOITED’
Councillor Joanna Camadoo, the
council’s cabinet member for community
safety and inclusion, said: “Using these
sorts of buildings as accommodation is
illegal for a very good reason – they are
substandard, unsafe and do
not meet the stringent
planning regulations
that exist to protect
our residents and
communities.
It’s a tragedy
tenants are
being exploited
in this way,
forced to live
in Dickensian
conditions by unscrupulous landlords.
“These cases are a warning to other
property owners who think they can
ignore the law – anyone who builds
properties in our borough without
planning permission can expect a knock
on the door from our enforcement
officers. As well as having hefty fines to
pay, both of these landlords now have
criminal records.
“You can avoid that by making sure you
have planning permission for any major
changes to your property. Paying council
tax is not the same as having planning
permission. Failure to comply with
planning notices is a criminal offence; so,
if we issue you with one, act on it.”
REPORT IT
If you are concerned about an
outhouse in your area or suspect
there may be people living in
one, please report it by emailing
[email protected]
around ealing February 2019
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