Punjab-origin landlord billed £16,000 for illegal unit’s demolition cost in London’s Southall

NON-COMPLIANCE

LONDON: The Ealing Council has handed a Punjab-origin landlord in Southall a £16,000 bill after it demolished an illegally constructed structure in his property that he refused to dismantle after being requested to do so by the council over two years.

Rapinder Sehajpal has been described by the council as a ‘slum landlord’, which refers to landlords letting out parts of their properties illegally to tenants in conditions that may or may not be hygienic. It said Sehajpal now owes the council £16,000 as the cost of demolishing the illegal outbuilding in her property.

“The 45-square-metre outbuilding had been built without planning permission and then illegally let to a family. The demolition came after several rounds of legal interventions by the council over a two-year period were disregarded by Sehajpal,” the council said.

The council began the proceedings after receiving a tipoff in May 2017. The owner was issued planning enforcement notice and after several exchanges and warning letters, the structure was knocked down by the council.

Councillor Joanna Camadoo-rothwell, the council’s lead member for community safety and inclusion, said: “This gentleman chose to ignore repeated requests to obey the law, continuing to rent out this illegally built outhouse. It is unacceptable in a modern, civilised society for a cramped building at the bottom of a garden to be used as a family home.”