Landlord to pay almost £100k after council prosecution secures confiscation order

A landlord has been hit with a confiscation order and forced to pay £93,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of two Planning Enforcement Notices issued by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council).

The landlord, Ian Kendall, of Burley Road, Christchurch, was handed the confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in Southampton Crown Court after renting out a building he did not have planning permission for.

According to BCP Council, the litigation follows five years' of work from the council's planning enforcement team, together with its legal and trading standards teams.

In 2016, the landlord had acquired planning permission to convert a detached garage into a dwelling.

He later applied for planning permission to extend the building, but his plans were rejected as the proposed extension was too large.

A fresh application was made and then approved. However, in 2018, planning enforcement officers discovered that he had built a larger extension than his permission allowed.

Around this time, officers also found he had extended another property he owned and had created a separate dwelling without planning permission.

Retrospective planning applications for both dwellings were refused, and the council issued enforcement notices.

The Planning Inspectorate dismissed appeals he made over both notices.

Throughout the process, he continued to rent one of the unlawful dwellings and occupied his extension.

The court made a confiscation order in the sum of £77,133.

The defendant was also fined £8,000 for the planning offences and ordered to pay costs to BCP Council of £7,877.

Following the successful prosecution for failure to comply with the enforcement notice, the council requested the case be transferred to the Crown Court for the making of a confiscation order under POCA.

Cllr Millie Earl, BCP Council's Portfolio Holder for Connected Communities, said: "Profiting from letting out unlawfully built dwellings is not only illegal, but unfair on tenants who have the right to live in a legal and safe home.

"I want to thank the dedicated officers in our Planning Enforcement and Legal teams for their hard work.

"I hope the huge amount of money confiscated in this case shows just how far we are willing to go to ensure these important regulations are always followed."

Adam Carey