Greedy landlords who milked £564k from illegal ‘shoebox’ flats hit with huge court order

A rogue landlord couple who carved up a family home into cramped, substandard flats and ignored the law for years have finally been brought to justice.

Inderjeet and Jasvinder Chokkar illegally converted a three-bedroom house into six tiny flats without planning permission, then brazenly rented them out to make a fortune. Brent Council ordered them to undo the work, but they didn’t and carried on cashing in.

After years of defiance, the pair were convicted of breaching a planning enforcement notice. Their appeal was thrown out, and the court has now ruled they must hand back £564,367, the full amount they made from the illegal scheme.

The punishment didn’t stop there. Mr Chokkar was fined £25,000 and faces up to 12 months in prison if he doesn’t pay. Mrs Chokkar was fined £15,000, with eight months in jail for non-payment. Their company, Housing Solutions (GB) Ltd, was fined another £25,000.

On top of that, the couple must pay nearly £50,000 in council enforcement, prosecution and legal costs. The total financial penalty and recovery ordered by the court came to £679,142. 

The court heard the flats were poorly converted and far too small. Judges took a dim view of the couple’s experience in property, their repeated refusals to comply, and their clear financial motive.

Cllr Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member for Public Realm & Enforcement said: “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.”

She added: "If you break planning laws and exploit tenants in Brent, we will do everything in our power to bring you to justice. You will pay the price.”