A record-breaking £700,000 has been seized from a rogue developer who built an illegal six storey block of flats in Hackney.
Garland Development Limited, and the company’s sole director Yusuf Sarodia, were taken to court by the council last month for illegally profiting from the 34 privately-rented flats that were built without the proper planning permission.
An enforcement notice had been served in August 2011, but the owners of the property in Hackney’s Hoxton area failed to comply and so the case went to court.
The council requested that the court confiscate money illegally made from the building under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The resulting £700,000, a record-breaking sum for a planning offence in the UK, was divided between the council, the court and the treasury.
The property has yet to be demolished and so the council is exploring further enforcement action.
Cllr Guy Nicholson, cabinet member for regeneration at Hackney Council, said: ‘Anyone who thinks they have a right to build a property in Hackney without first obtaining planning permission must realise that the Council will take action against those who flout the rules.
‘Putting up a building without planning permission is not only breaching planning law but to be quite frank puts at risk the safety of residents and neighbouring properties.’
