Court orders landlord to pay £20,000+ for ignoring planning enforcement notice

A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £20,000 after he failed to comply with a planning enforcement notice issued by Barking and Dagenham Council.

The council said that in 2004, Ijaz Hussain purchased a property in Dagenham that was originally a single-family dwelling.

In May 2020, Barking and Dagenham's Planning Enforcement Team discovered that the property had been unlawfully subdivided into two self-contained flats and rented out to tenants.

This was done without the required planning permission, the local authority said.

It added that Hussain was advised of the breach and invited to either submit a retrospective planning application or restore the property to its original condition.

When no action was taken, an enforcement notice was served in December 2021, requiring the removal of the second kitchen and internal modifications within six months.

The Planning Inspectorate dismissed Hussain’s appeal and upheld the notice in April 2023.

A follow-up inspection in January 2024 confirmed that the property remained in breach.

Legal proceedings began in April 2024, and on 3 June 2025, Hussain appeared at Romford Magistrates’ Court, where he changed his plea to guilty.

The defendant was fined £10,000, ordered to pay a £4,000 victim surcharge, and £6,142 in legal costs to the council, a total of £20,142, payable within three months.

Cllr Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety at Barking and Dagenham, said: “This case demonstrates that while we are always willing to work with residents to resolve planning issues, we will not tolerate those who ignore the law. Our Planning Enforcement Team is committed to ensuring that housing standards are upheld and that our communities are protected from unlawful development.”