Jail threat for wealthy landlord who ignored demolition order

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A landlord must demolish two penthouses that he built without planning permission – or face a four-month jail sentence.

Munjit Dulay, whose company MB Estate owns property worth millions of pounds, bought St Clement Court in Fosse Lane, New Parks, Leicester, in 2012 and turned the former old people’s home into 74 flats, Leicester County Court heard. He then built two penthouse flats on top of the buildings without permission and ignored a notice from the city council, followed by a court order, to remove them in May 2019. Leicestershire Live reports that instead of evicting the tenants, he re-let both penthouses – at least once – continuing to collect £455 per month on one and £600 per month on the other.

Bad advice

Representing himself, Dulay, 55, said he had taken bad legal advice and failed to demolish the apartments because his previous team of solicitors had advised him they could get the demolition order overturned. He said: “I wish we would have complied with the order but unfortunately that’s not the case.”

Last August he admitted that MB Estate had breached the injunction and that he had committed contempt of court by ‘breaching undertakings’. Dulay was given a four-month jail sentence, suspended for the next six months. MB Estate was fined £25,000 for breaching the injunction and Dulay was ordered to pay costs of £4,129. Judge Richard Hedley told him the flats must be gone by 17th July or the jail sentence would be activated.

Poor standard

Deputy city mayor, councillor Piara Singh Clair, says: “This was a very poor standard of development, built without planning permission in a flagrant breach of planning control. This case shows that ignoring and seeking to evade enforcement proceedings will lead to consequences such as large fines and potentially a prison sentence if the council’s requirements are not followed.”

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