Hefty Fine for Park Royal 'Beds in Shed' Landlord
Ten-year legal battle ends with £380,000 bill
A bedroom in the outbuilding. Picture: Ealing Council
June 6, 2024
A Park Royal landlord has been hit with a huge bill following a ten-year battle with Ealing Council.
Inspectors first discovered that Sheikh Warak was illegally letting an outbuilding in his back garden in Wesley Road in May 2014.
Ealing Council’s planning enforcement team ordered Mr Warak to stop renting the outbuilding and required him to remove a kitchen and bathroom from the building, along with plumbing.
Officers found that people were living there in cramped and substandard conditions and decided that the use of the rear outbuilding was having a detrimental effect on the character and appearance of the area.
The following month, Mr Warak appealed the council’s notice to the Planning Inspectorate, which dismissed the appeal in May 2015. He was then ordered to comply with the notice by November 2015.
Council inspectors were unable to gain access until 2020, when officers found that the outbuilding was still being occupied. The council then started court proceedings against Mr Warak.
After delays caused by COVID-19 and other issues, Mr Warak pleaded guilty to breaching the requirements of the enforcement notice at Isleworth Crown Court on 9 May 2023.
The same court has now ordered him to pay a total of almost £383,000 for persistently ignoring planning regulations with the amount payable reflective of the extended legal wrangling and history of non-compliance.
The cost is made up of a confiscation order of £346,437, in addition to costs of £10,063, a victim surcharge of £120, and a £26,250 fine – a total of £382,870.
Failure to pay the fine could lead to a prison term of 3-and-a-half years.
If you are concerned about an outhouse in your area or suspect there may be people living in one, you can report it by emailing planningenforcement@ealing.gov.uk.
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