Two landlords in Ealing have been handed a combined bill of over £600,000 for illegally converting houses into cramped and substandard flats. 

Perivale landlord Vagnik Hovanessian has been ordered to pay more than £400,000 for ignoring a planning notice at his property on Selborne Gardens. 

Hovanessian had initially been served a notice in 2011 after a council investigation found he had been renting a family home as three separate self-contained flats which were cramped and sub-standard, the notice ordered him to stop occupying the property under those circumstances and undo the internal alterations. 

In January 2020, having been repeatedly denied access to the property, the council received a warrant to search the property and found it was still being used in the same way. 

In February 2022, Hovanessian was found guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates Court of failing to comply with an enforcement notice and after being referred to Isleworth Crown Court, he was ordered to pay a confiscation order of £385,288, £18,000 in costs, and a £3,000 fine. 

Naib Sidhu, who was fined for a similar offence in 2017, has been fined over £200,000 after failing to comply with an enforcement notice dating back to 2017 requiring him to stop renting out a family home in Boston Gardens, Hanwell as eight self-contained flats. 

Sidhu had only received planning permission to convert the property into three flats but had converted it into eight and officers were blocked from accessing the entire property during a compliance visit in August 2020. 

After obtaining a warrant, they discovered how the property was being used in October 2020 and Sidhu was found guilty of failing to comply with an enforcement order in July 2021. 

The case was referred to Isleworth Crown Court in March 2023 and he was ordered to pay a confiscation order of £166,299, £15,000 in costs, and a £17,000 fine as it was not his first offence. 

Councillor Shital Manro, Ealing Council's cabinet member for good growth and new homes, said: "This is a great result for all Ealing residents, but particularly those who rent privately. Our planning enforcement team worked doggedly to pursue these two rogue landlords, who did not take their responsibilities seriously and profited from renting out cramped and substandard properties. 

"Failure to comply with planning enforcement notices is a criminal offence which will always be investigated and punished accordingly. Landlords must ensure that they have relevant planning permission for major changes to their properties."