A buy-to-let landlord in London has been issued with a confiscation order of £78,620 after she converted a five-bedroom house into without planning permission.

Titilola Oyejole from Dagenham divided up the five bedroom home on Fanshawe Crescent around nine years ago, with her living in one and renting out the rest.

But she was instructed to restore the property to a single dwelling after planning officers from Barking and Dagenham visited the premises in 2015, but she chose to ignore ignore the order.

Oyejole in was taken to court after failing a follow-up inspection and was ordered to pay a Confiscation Order of £19,784 – plus a fine.

In 2018, she applied for a license under the council’s selective scheme, but again undertook an unauthorised conversion of the property into two apartments; the units were infested with rats and water ingress.

This time she was issued with an improvement notice; at a second court case in 2023 she was found guilty of ignoring planning enforcement requirements.

Oyejole is now facing a second Proceeds of Crime Act Confiscation Order of £51,983 which, combined with fines and paying the council’s costs, means she must now pay £78,620 or face being sent to prison.

Gary Jones, operational director, enforcement, regulatory and community safety, at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, commented: “This case shows that we always take necessary steps to safeguard tenants making sure that landlords do not benefit financially from illegal activity.

“This is a fantastic result and shows the importance of collaborative working across the service. I would like to thank everyone involved who have helped achieve this and protect private tenants.”