Salah Ali, 52, is fighting order made at Norwich Crwon Court

A rogue landlord who was ordered to pay a record £1.4m million fine for illegally converting a house into 12 flats in Willesden is appealing against the order.

Salah Ali, of Carlton Avenue East, Wembley was ordered to pay the seven-figure sum within six months or face a 10 year jail sentence in connection with the property in Willesden Lane.

However the 52-year-old is fighting the order at the Court of Appeal.

Ali was handed down, what is believed to have been the highest confiscation order granted for a planning offence in the country, at Norwich Crown Court last September.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of £4,000 for the breach of the planning regulations and legal costs of almost £35,000, while a restraint order had been put in place to prevent him from disposing of his assets before he fulfils his obligations and pays the £1.438 million.

A spokesman for Brent Council told the Times: “I can confirm that this case has gone to the court of appeal.”

After he was fined the Times exclusively revealed Brent Council had failed to check the legitimacy of the properties while accepting Council Tax payments from its tenants in the last six years.

A council spokesman said at the time: “Council Tax is a charge on residents for local services and occupants must pay regardless of any planning issues.”