A family in Hanwell has been ordered by a court to pay more than £900,000 for illegally converting a property and breaking planning laws.

Ealing Council has successfully concluded a 6-year long case against Jagdishbhai Patel, Minaxiben Patel, and their son Alpesh Patel of Greenford Avenue in Hanwell, and daughter Parul Patel of Langdale Gardens in Perivale.

In total, the defendants, who are all named as legal owners of the property, were ordered to pay £929,621.11 at Isleworth Crown Court on 16 October. The amount includes a confiscation order, fines, victim surcharge, and prosecution costs.

Failure to comply

Two planning enforcement notice were served in August 2019 for extensions which were completed without planning permission to another property the family owns in Greenford Avenue, Hanwell. One of the notices was to stop the use of an outbuilding at the back of the property as a self-contained flat. The other was to stop the use of the first and second floor as 4 self-contained flats, including the instruction to remove the kitchen and bathroom facilities.

An appeal was made against one of the notices which was rejected by the planning inspectorate, and the family was told to put the property back to how it was before the work had been done by October 2020.

As warning letters to comply with the notices were ignored, council officers visited the property under a warrant in April 2022 and found that it still wasn’t compliant with both notices. The 4 flats and illegal outbuilding were being let to tenants and the defendants had continued to profit from the illegal conversions and receive rental income.

Court action

All 4 owners were summoned to court in January 2023, but they failed to appear.

They pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the requirements of both the enforcement notices, at a hearing in June that year, but attempts to change their pleas and failing to show up to hearings caused more delays.

During a further enforcement visit in July 2025, the owners had still not complied with the council’s enforcement notices. Council tax records confirmed that all 5 dwellings remained occupied and the owners had been receiving rental income all this time.

At a hearing on 16 October 2025, a confiscation order of £900,217.11 was imposed on Jagdishbhai and Minaxiben Patel. They were also issued a £4,500 fine each, totalling £9,000, and ordered to pay legal costs of £8,000 each, and victim surcharges of £181 each.

Siblings, Alpesh and Parul Patel, were registered owners of the property but the court agreed they were less culpable for the failure to comply with the notices, and were each ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £21, and costs of £2,000.

The defendants have been warned that failure to comply with the original enforcement notices would result in further court action.

‘Protecting private tenants’

In November, Ealing Council tightened planning controls across the borough, which means that all new houses of multiple occupation (HMOs), however small, will have to apply for planning permission. These new rules will allow the council to assess their suitability including their impact on neighbourhoods.

The council trialled the new planning permission process in Perivale in September 2024. Since then, more than 25% of applications for HMOs have been turned down by the council or have been withdrawn by the landlord.

Councillor Shital Manro, the council’s cabinet member for good growth and new homes, said: “The outcome of this prosecution sends a clear message that we will not tolerate illegal property conversions that undermine our planning system and put residents at risk. We will use every legal tool available to us to ensure offenders who wilfully ignore the rules are financially punished.

“This outcome reflects the seriousness of these breaches. Anyone intending to make changes to their property must get approval first. We remain committed to protecting private tenants and ensure they have safe, well-maintained homes.”

Report it

If you are concerned that a property in your area has breached planning regulations, you can report it via the council’s website.

Visit the council’s website for more information on planning rules and applications.