A landlord has been fined £33,698 for breaching licensing conditions at a property.
Action was taken by Havering council against Shamsul Huda, who also lived at the address in Romford.
It follows him breaking two Prohibition Orders which had been served against him.
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) the council took Huda to court.
The Judge at Snaresbrook Crown Court ordered that Huda must pay £33,689.79 or spend two years in prison.
Huda had previously pleaded guilty for failing to license the property as an HMO at Barkingside Magistrates Court.
He was fined £5,000, for the three separate offences, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £500, and legal costs totalling £14,294.21.
Huda has a long history of Housing Act breaches.
Previous enforcement actions undertaken by the council against him, include the service of Civil Penalties,
As well as a criminal prosecution brought against him in 2022.
A council spokesperson says: “All our residents deserve to live in safe accommodation and we as a Council will always aim to do all we can to help make that happen.
“We will continue to crack down on irresponsible landlords taking advantage of families and individuals by providing poorly maintained HMO properties.
“We also won’t tolerate landlords not having the correct licences and breaching said licences, as this case shows, we will take the strongest action possible.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today