Landlord hit with £165k planning enforcement fine for overcrowding

The London Borough of Brent has issued a £165,000 fine to a landlord who was caught crowding 18 people, including seven children, into one house.

The landlord breached planning rules by changing the use of the home to accommodate multiple people and a single-storey rear conversion, according to the London borough.

Brent added that it also recently handed a £152,000 fine to a landlord for turning a two-floor property into three substandard flats.

The council said it issued the second-highest number of enforcement notices in the country in 2021/22 for breaking planning regulations, with the recipients "often providing inadequate housing or building on land that isn't suitable".

Westminster Council topped the list for planning enforcement notices with 130 notices issued in the year to June 2022, according to Just Planning. Barnet placed second with 120 enforcement notices issued.

Commenting on the council's enforcement action, Cllr Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Public Protection, said: "We will always work closely with people to help them with their planning applications process, but when landlords and businesses unfairly break the rules and create an unfair environment for everyone else - our enforcement team will step in."

Adam Carey