Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Landlord set to lose rents from illegal conversions
Rogue landlords continue to blight the Harringay Ladder - Haringey Council have managed to bring one to book.
A rogue landlord faces fines and having his rents confiscated after losing his appeal against conviction for two illegal house conversions.
Cllr Nilgun Canver, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:
"Hopefully we will now see justice done. The extra rent accrued while people were living in illegally converted flats may now be confiscated. I hope this is a lesson to all landlords who try to take shortcuts or hope to dodge planning laws."
[name removed] of Southgate converted properties on Hewitt Road and Burgoyne Road N4, to four and five self-contained flats. He had no planning permission for the conversions. Consequently council planning enforcement officers issued enforcement notices requiring him to return the properties to single dwellings.
He was first prosecuted and convicted in 2010 when he failed to comply with the enforcement notice. A further prosecution in 2011 resulted in a second conviction.
Subsequent planning inspection visits found no changes to the properties and he was prosecuted and convicted for a third time in January this year. He unsuccessfully appealed the conviction at Wood Green Crown Court on March 11, arguing he had done all he could to comply with the enforcement notices. The judge dismissed this as 'far too little too late'.
Haringey Council requested that the matter be referred for confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act as so much time had lapsed since the enforcement notices were first in breach. He stands to potentially lose all of the calculated benefits from renting these properties as flats in breach of the enforcement notice and may be fined and asked to pay costs incurred by the council.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Alexander, could you please give a couple of recent examples where this happened; Both full addresses and the Planning reference numbers, if possible.
I'd like to check and see what went wrong. Thanks.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Permalink Reply by Alexander Smith on
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If you add me to your connections Alan I'm happy to send you a few. I don't want to post them publicly as I've already had problems with people whose applications I've objected to.
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It's probably quicker and easier to email me, Alexander. I note what you say about objections you've posted.
alan.stanton@virgin.net
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Permalink Reply by Zena Brabazon on
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Hi Neil
Can you please provide more information about the dodgy landlords in your street. As councillors we can chase this up but we need to have some detail.
Zena
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Zena Brabazon
Cllr, St. Ann's Ward
Chair St. Ann'sand Harringay Area Forum and Committee
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Typical Haringey Council. Instead of focusing on the serious issues we face in our community like to poor state of the roads, increasing crime and exceptionally poor social services like we have seen in the Baby P and Victoria Climbie case they are speeding huge resources on cases such as this. Im not seeking to defend such actions but having read about this particular case the charge was NOT one of illegal conversion BUT his failure to remedy the breach of his predecessors in title. There is no evidence that any of the tenants complained but to avoid from this happening more Haringey need to provide more social housing for tenants who cannot afford much. They need to get building quickly as I am sure we will get our fair share of Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants next year.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Speechless.
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Haringey Council succeeds in recovering the unlawful income of a professional landlord acting in breach of planning law.
The defendant sought to argue that his benefit from criminal conduct ought to be reduced to take into account the notional income that he would have received upon renting his properties out as a single occupancy dwelling or HMO.
The Court rejected the defendant's argument and held that his rights under A1P1 were not engaged.
The defendant was ordered to pay over £310,000 in confiscation and £12,000 in penalties.
http://33knowledge.com/updates/category/landlords-illegal-profits-c...
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If you own a property in London that you do not need to occupy, there are very generous incomes to be gained. Much more so if you are willing to flout planning law. Bravo Haringey Council.
Interestingly, and I can't remember if I saw it on here first, an area is deemed up and coming when there us wholesale conversion from houses to flats. It's deemed REALLY up and coming when people convert flats back to houses.
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FPR can you explain what you mean by "making more cheap homes" ? Do you you think that's what landlords who breach planning rules are doing?
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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And if you have been anti, I guess that justifies it. And it's not just about housing. There's schools, doctors, jobs, even parking. And if welfare means anything, it should not just be for people who have paid in to the system.
If we care about immigrants, we should not have them living in cramped rabbit hutches carved out of what are relatively modest 3-bedroom houses, but in decent accommodation.
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I don't think it's as clear cut as which party voted to "open the doors". The right to migration is a consequence of these countries joining the EU, not a border decisin from the UK. As a member state our government does have a say in who joins but the process to join the EU takes decades. The Romanian and Bulgarian application process began in the 1990s and we have had Con, Labour and Con/LibDem over that period.
As to housing, there is a big difference between converting large houses while respecting planning laws (which primarily protect the locality and the neighbours) and building standards (which primarily protect the future occupants), and carrying out illegal conversions. It's the latter that this thread is about. I'm sure there are other ways of housing an increasing population than tearing up any control over developments.
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