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17/12/25 3:30 pm
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A rogue landlord has been hit with a whopping £81,000 fine for renting out an illegal outbuilding
Windsor-based Rajinder Singh Pander was successfully prosecuted by Hounslow Council for the illegal construction and residential use of the building in Worthing Road, Hounslow, in the garden of his rental property.
Isleworth Crown Court heard that after a concerned neighbour alerted the council, officers found the outbuilding failed to meet basic planning, housing and residential standards and was wholly unsuitable for people to live in. The 25sq m building had one bedroom, kitchen, living area and bathroom. His tenants, a family with a young child, were forced to live in cramped and substandard living conditions, raising serious concerns about their health and wellbeing.
Pander continued to ignore the council’s instruction that the outbuilding was unsafe, and it then served an enforcement notice requiring him to demolish it. However, the landlord ignored this, and the outbuilding remained standing and continued to be used unlawfully as rental accommodation.
The judge found the offence to be at the higher end of negligent culpability and fined Pander £14,000 - reduced from £21,000 to reflect a one-third credit for a guilty plea - alongside £7,547 in costs. He was also handed a £59,496 confiscation order for earnings during the rental period.
Councillor Tom Bruce, deputy leader of Hounslow Council (pictured), says the prosecution continues the council's clear message that it won’t tolerate landlords who put profit before people’s safety.
“This outbuilding was wholly unsuitable for residential use and should never have been occupied,” he adds. “We always take robust enforcement action against those who choose to flout the law and undermine residents’ safety. If anyone has any concerns about any property in the borough, please report these to us as soon as you can.”
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