A pair of buy-to-let investors who flaunted planning regulations have been told to pay a total of £116,000.
Efstratios Filis-Gelagotis and Andreas Charalambous converted a property into seven studio flats in the London borough of Islington. This conversion was carried out without the required planning permission.
Warning
In December 2013, Islington Council issued a planning enforcement notice, permitting the unauthorised use of the single-family property for studio flats to cease inside six months.
Despite this, the flats continued to be let without authority, even after several further warning letters were issued by the council. As such, a decision was taken to prosecute the two men.
In October last year, both Filis-Gelagotis and Charalambous pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the enforcement notices.
Huge fines for landlords after illegal letting
Fines
Blackfriars Crown Court has instructed both men to pay a fine of £5,000 each, alongside legal costs of £4,000. In addition, they were each ordered to pay another £49,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This money represents the value made from renting the property between July 2014 and October 2015.
Since the trial, the property has now been legally converted into a six-bedroom house in multiple occupancy (HMO.) Planning permission was granted in October of last year.