A landlord in Hayes, west London, has been ordered to pay back more than £140,000 in rent she received unlawfully after converting a house into two separate flats without planning consent.
The council's planning enforcement officers discovered Surinder Kaur Sethi, 61, had converted a three-bedroom house in Balmoral Drive, worth in the region £400,000, into two self contained flats without permission following a tip-off.
Sethi, of Frogmore Avenue, raised £142,490 in rent but this money will now be confiscated after she was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court. If she fails to pay the money within three months she faces up to 12 months in jail.
Sethi was also fined £1,000 and forced to pay a £100 victim surcharge.
According to Get West London, Sethi is the second person to be taken to court by Hillingdon Council recently after Akmal Hussain was fined £8,000 for building a large extension to his property without permission.
Leader of the council, Ray Puddifoot, said: “This is a great result for Hillingdon Council.
“Our prosecution of Mrs Sethi and our planning enforcement and trading standards team's investigation into her illegal activity has lead to her prosecution and the proceeds of her crime being recovered at sentencing.
“Hillingdon Council is committed to ensure that crime does not pay in this borough.”
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