Rogue landlord fined over £170,000
The converted garage flat which has been used illegally to house tenants Picture: Brent Council - Credit: Archant
A man who illegally housed tenants inside his converted garage has been ordered to pay £173,141 by a court.
Inside one of the flats which has been used to illegally house tenants for seven years Picture: Brent Council - Credit: Archant
Amir Golesorkhi of Ridge Close, Colindale turned his garage into two small, substandard flats. He had been renting these flats out for the last seven years, whilst he lived in the main house with his wife.
On July 28, Harrow Crown Court found Mr Golesorkhi guilty of breaching a planning enforcement notice served by Brent Council in April 2008, after he continued to house tenants up until 2016.
Planning enforcement and Trading Standards officers described the flats as “not particularly nice places to live, especially as access was down a narrow, overshadowed alley via a side door”.
Mr Golesorkhi was fined £12,000 and then ordered to pay £161,141 in confiscation proceedings.
'Access was down a narrow, overshadowed alley via a side door' Picture: Brent Council - Credit: Archant
The confiscation order was given under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover the money that Mr Golesorkhi made as a result of failing to comply with Brent Council’s enforcement notice.
Cllr Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said: “This is a victory for Brent residents. Housing tenants in poor conditions is unacceptable and rogue landlords will pay heavily out of their pockets if they do so. Brent Council is committed to protecting renters from landlords who exploit people in the private rented sector for a quick buck. Overcrowding, poor safety in the home, micro flats and unlicensed properties are issues that we take very seriously.”
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Over 100 rogue landlords have secured criminal prosecutions against them since Brent Council launched an enforcement crackdown.
Last month, Artur Zuravskij was found guilty at Willesden Magistrates Court of illegally subletting a five bedroom house in Hanover Road, Willesden, to seven tenants.
He rented the house from a letting agency and sublet it without the legally requisite licence from Brent Council.
Mr Zuravskij was ordered by judges at Willesden Magistrates Court to pay £2,250 in fines, while his company, Enox UK Ltd – formerly Skyline Property Management – was fined £8,000.
Rogue landlords in Brent have been forced to fork more than half a million pounds in fines since January 2016.
