
A pair of rogue landlords in London are to pay over £670,000 in returned rental income and fines after a council successfully took them to court.
47-year-old Inderjeet and 45-year-old Jasvinder Chhokar are to pay the highest ‘fine’ this year after illegally converting a three-bedroom property in Brent into six tiny flats without planning permission and then renting them out.
The two professional landlords were until recently directors of a property firm called Housing Solutions (GB) Ltd the latest accounts for which show ‘cash in the bank’ of some £183,000.
They may need this. After years of defiance, the pair were convicted of breaching a planning enforcement notice and, after their appeal was thrown out, the court has now ruled they must hand back £564,367, the full amount they made from the scheme.
On top of this, if they don’t pay the money back then between them they will fined a further £40,000 and each face up to 12 months in prison. Their company was also fined £25,000.
Also, the couple must pay nearly £50,000 in council enforcement, prosecution and legal costs taking the total penalty and recovery ordered by the court to £679,142.
Inderjeet in particular should be able to pay the fine with some ease as the landlord has connections to multiple companies with interests in property other than Housing Solutions (GB) Ltd and which hold mortgages for half a dozen properties all over London including Brent (main image).
During the latest hearing, the court heard the flats were poorly converted and far too small with the judges taking a dim view given the couple’s experience in property, their repeated refusals to comply, and their “clear financial motive”.

Councillor Krupa Seth (pictured), Cabinet Member for Public Realm & Enforcement at Brent Council, says: “These rogue landlords have felt the full force of the law after choosing to rip off tenants, house them in substandard conditions and ignore planning regulations.
“This kind of exploitation is illegal, and we will root out every last landlord in Brent who behaves like this and take them to court.”
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