Landlord ordered to pay almost £175k in Court

A UK landlord who was found guilty of serious planning offences has been ordered to pay almost £175,000 in Court.

Mr Amir Golesorkhi was found to have housed at least two tenants in “substandard flats” from 2008 up until late 2016.

According to reports, the landlord had illegally converted a single garage into two separate properties, and had failed to comply with a planning enforcement notice.

For seven years, Mr Golesorkhi had let out these unlawful properties while he himself lived in the adjacent main house with his wife.

Planning enforcement and trading standards officers who visited the “substandard flats” described them as “not particularly nice places to live,” criticising access to the two flats, which was described as being “down a narrow, overshadowed alley via a side door.”

At Harrow Crown Court, Mr Golesorkhi was charged with a failure to comply with a planning enforcement notice issued by Brent Council in April 2008 – an offence to which he pleaded guilty.

He was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £116,141 in confiscation proceedings as a result of failing to comply with the Council’s initial enforcement notice.

Councillor Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, described the case as “a victory for Brent residents.”

He said: “Brent Council is committed to protecting renters from landlords who exploit people in the private rented sector for a quick buck.

“Housing tenants in poor conditions is unacceptable and landlords will pay heavily out of their pockets if they do so.

“Overcrowding, poor safety in the home, micro flats and unlicensed properties are issues that we take very seriously.”

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