A judge at Isleworth Crown Court has ordered Amarjit Singh and Jasbinder Kaur to pay £250,055.80 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for illegally converting a house into flats.
This figure is the income generated from charging rent of the five illegal units.
In June 2018, Hillingdon Council's planning enforcement team inspected 24 Maple Avenue after reports that an outbuilding had been built in the garden without planning permission.
Officers found a separate bedroom, kitchen, shower room and lounge, with the building being used as a residential unit. In July 2018, officers established that the main building had been illegally subdivided into four self-contained flats with separate bedrooms, kitchens and living spaces. It was being used as residential units.
A planning enforcement notice, issued in November 2018, required the main property and outbuilding to be returned to use as a single dwelling by March 2019. An unscheduled inspection found that the enforcement notice had not been complied with.
Singh and Kaur pleaded guilty to two offences of breaching planning control at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in February 2024. A financial investigation by the council's trading standards team uncovered the rental income received from the illegal flats.
The case was referred to the Crown Court for sentencing and confiscation proceedings after the council's trading standards team uncovered the rental income received from the illegal flats. The property has been returned to its previous condition as a single dwelling house.
In addition to the confiscation order, Singh and Kaur have been individually fined £10,000 and are required to pay prosecution costs of £4,480. The judge set three months for the payment for all fines. Defaulting on the payment of the confiscation order could lead to two years and nine months' imprisonment.
Councillor Steve Tuckwell, Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and Growth at Hillingdon Council, said: "This is a significant result for our planning enforcement and trading standards teams and sends a clear message that the creation of beds in sheds and illegally rented properties will not be condoned in our borough".
"We're determined to keep residents safe from harm and ensure everyone can live in safe, good-quality homes, and we will continue to take legal action against any landlords who break the rules".
