Beds in Shed Family Fined

Mother and son failed to comply with enforcement notices

A mother and son have been ordered to pay more than £3,000 by the courts for failing to stop using their garden outhouse in Southall as living accommodation.

Mr and Mrs Bansal were issued with an enforcement notice after an inspection by Ealing Council’s regulatory services officers where they found evidence of the outbuilding being used as an unauthorised self-contained place to live. They were ordered, as part of the notice, to remove all traces of the fully fitted kitchen.

When regulatory services officers returned to re-inspect the property all the kitchen facilities were still in place with freshly washed dishes in the rack. There was a bed made up to sleep in, and used toiletries and towels in the bathroom.

Mr Charanjit Singh Bansal, of Derley Road, Southall, appeared at Ealing Magistrates Court on 4 July 2013 to represent himself and his mother Mrs Baljit Kaur Bansal. Mr Bansal pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to comply with an enforcement notice issued on the use of the detached outbuilding as a self-contained residential accommodation. Mr Bansal was ordered to pay a £925 fine, £1244.31 costs and £93 victim surcharge. Mrs Bansal, in her absence, was ordered to pay a £230 fine, £500 costs and £23 victim surcharge.

Council leader Julian Bell, said: “This case is a great example of the on-going work of the council’s outhouse team. This mother and son paid no regard to the legal notice served on them to remove the kitchen from their outbuilding. We will continue to investigate complaints about outbuildings being used as living accommodation and will take firm action when enforcement notices have been ignored.”

The council’s outhouse team have been inspecting properties across the borough with suspected outhouses being used as residential accommodation, without formal permission from the planning department.

29th July 2013