A landlord who crammed vulnerable tenants into tiny flats above a Stoke Newington pub has been fined £285,000 after Hackney Council enforcement officers intervened.

Wood Green Crown Court heard how Ibrahim Has, owner and director of Has & Co. Properties, squeezed 13 flats into the space above the Yucatan Pub on Stoke Newington Road.

The homes were as small as nine square metres in size – less than a quarter of the 37 square metre legal minimum.

In March 2022, Mr Has and a co-defendant pleaded guilty to failing to comply with Hackney Council’s planning enforcement notice after he ignored a decision to refuse planning permission for the properties and a subsequent requirement for the properties to be removed by March 2019.

The council then took court action after conducting a money laundering investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which allows income from criminal activities to be seized.

On 12 June 2023, the company and Mr Has were ordered to pay £284,675.90, including £15,000 for not complying with the enforcement notice, £8,110 in legal costs, and a confiscation order of £261,565.90 of illegal rental income.

The illegal properties have been removed, and a third of the fine has been retained by the local authority to be used for crime prevention, Hackney Council said.

Hackney’s deputy mayor, Cllr Guy Nicholson, said: ‘Hackney is facing a critical housing shortage, and it’s crucial that the council does not allow people to exploit this crisis by cramming people into homes that don’t meet decent living standards.

‘We should all be proud of Hackney’s enforcement team for not just ensuring that these unacceptable properties have been removed, but for also setting a clear example to others that the council has no truck with bad landlords and will not hesitate to secure a conviction to ensure that a criminal landlord won’t profit from their actions.’