A couple who allowed people to live in so-called 'beds in sheds' in Hounslow have been ordered to pay more than £80,000.
Goyas Ali and his wife Bahar Begum, of Park Road, Hounslow, were first told by Hounslow Council back in 2008 to stop using outbuildings in the backyards of three properties in the road as accommodation.
Enforcement notices issued by the council at the time described how people were living in 'cramped' and 'substandard' conditions in the sheds, yet the couple took no action.
They were eventually brought before the bench at Feltham Magistrates' Court earlier this year, where they admitted breaching all three notices.
At Kingston Crown Court on Friday, October 10, Ali was fined £65,000 and ordered to pay £4,366 in costs, while Begum was fined £10,000 and told to pay £1,000 in costs.
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran hailed the result as a major victory in the council's battle against the illegal use of outbuildings as accommodation.
"Beds in sheds are a scar on our great city and we will not relent in our determination to demolish every one of them in our borough," he said.
"Beds in sheds are often rented out to the most vulnerable and desperate in our society – we have a duty to make sure these people are protected and not exploited by greedy landlords."
getwestlondon reported last month how Hounslow Council had taken action against nearly 150 landlords as part of a crackdown on beds in sheds.
In July, a landlord was fined £25,000 for illegally letting out a garage and outbuilding in Heston.
