Planning and POCA: Court orders confiscation of rental profits

Giles Atkinson represented the local authority, the London Borough of Lambeth, in a successful prosecution of a breach of an enforcement notice. The notice that was to have been complied with by February 2009, required the cessation of the use of five unlawfully converted flats at an address in Streatham. The defendant unsuccessfully appealed against the conviction and the Council sought a confiscation order essentially for the rental stream arising from the five unlawful flats.

This was a criminal lifestyle case and the benefit was calculated at over a quarter of a million pounds, the sum of the confiscation order represented the available amount of £100,000. The Order was imposed at Inner London Crown Court on Friday.