24-03-2025
West London woman rented her outbuilding for £1,300 a month - she has to pay £70k after being busted
Hounslow Council has successfully prosecuted and fined a woman thousands of pounds for illegally renting an outbuilding as a home. The West London council says it is 'cracking down' on illegal rentals in the borough.
Thillakarani Ratnam, of 43 Chatsworth Crescent, was fined over £70,000 after a prolonged investigation, led by the Hounslow Council Planning Enforcement Team. Ms Ratnam was caught advertising the outbuilding for rent at £1,300 a month in 2017.
In the period she was illegally letting the building as a residential property, she accumulated £35,000 in rent. After failing to comply with an enforcement notice to cease use and remove all kitchen and bathroom facilities from the building, the council decided to take further action.
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Working alongside the Metropolitan Police, the council discovered the building continued to be occupied despite warnings. Ms Ratnam was forced to pay a £15,000 fine, more than £20,000 in court costs, and was forced to repay the £35,000 raked in from the illegal rental.
Hounslow Council say in recent months enforcements have been issued against 24 unlicensed HMOs. Additionally, two civil penalties, 10 warnings and four formal improvement notices have been issued to landlords in the borough.
The Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Tom Bruce, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he attended the enforcement visit against the rogue landlord. He said: "Sometimes I go along because I think it's important to see what is going on.
"There were lots of safety issues and officers had tried to work with the landlady, letting her know it was illegal and she had to stop. Some may say it takes too long to deal with but it's important not to go in over the top, because we can sort it out."
He added: "With illegal rentals there can be a huge number of safety issues, if they aren't compliant and so on. They can have boilers in the wrong place, electrical things not working properly, so there is always that danger element.
"Sometimes these places don't have carbon monoxide alarms which if your boiler leaks, the tenant will die. It's for those reasons we have to make sure properties being let are suitable, and if they aren't we will take action."
The council's financial investigators were crucial in uncovering the extent of gains from this illegal activity, which the council say indicates its resolve in tackling unscrupulous rental practices. Hounslow Council says it will continue to monitor housing compliance issues and will respond to ensure that all residents have access to safe and lawful housing options.
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