Landlord fined £1.1m for illegal flats conversion

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Confiscation Orders:

Southwark Council successfully prosecuted a London landlord
who divided a London Bridge property into 20 cramped studios and bedsits, “putting
profits before the quality of life of his tenants.�

Mr Trepel, aged 74 from Trinec in the Czech Republic, is the
subject of London’s largest Proceeds of Crime (confiscation order) claim to-date
for his illegal conversion of three flats within 2-4 London Bridge Street in
2010.

The council originally successfully prosecuted Trepel for this
breach of the planning laws back in 2010, when he was fined and ordered to
return the property back to its original condition.

But Trepel failed to comply despite further warnings and at
the Inner London Crown Court on 17 April, 2019, he was fined £10,000 and
ordered to pay £35,000 costs for breaching a planning enforcement notice, plus an
additional £1,000 fine from his company – No.1 (London) Ltd.

Of more consequence to Trepel however, Southwark Council, using
a Proceeds of Crime confiscation order, achieved a record settlement figure of
£1,118,601 which will have to be paid within the next three months, otherwise
Trepel faces a seven year prison sentence.

The figure was based on a calculation that Trepel would have
received £1.2.m gross in rent on his London Bridge Street properties since
2011.

Councillor Victoria Mills, Cabinet Member for Finance,
Performance and Brexit, said:

“I hope this serves as a warning to any disreputable
landlord operating in Southwark. This council will not stand by and let our
residents live in cramped properties that are harmful to their health and
happiness, and we will use every legal measure at our disposal to ensure homes
are of a decent standard and landlords do not profit from the misery of their
tenants.�

Under Proceeds of Crime Act rules most of the money will go
to the government but the council will receive around £445,000 of the criminal
benefit to re-invest in further enforcement and crime reduction initiatives.

The council has restrained assets belonging to both Trepel
and his company to ensure that the confiscation orders will be satisfied.

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