Council officers made repeated visits to a property in Masefield Avenue, Southall after the owners constructed an outbuilding without planning permission. Ealing officers believed the self-contained building was being rented out as accommodation, for at least £750 a month, after being alerted by an anonymous complainant. The owners demolished the building last month after being given an Enforcement Notice in March warning that they faced legal action and a fine of up to £20,000 if they failed to remove it. The council’s outhouse enforcement team is now successfully overseeing the voluntary demolition of a brand new fitted kitchen in another outhouse in Priory Gardens, near Hanger Lane; after neighbours complained that the outhouse – combined with a legal extension to the house – took up most of the garden. When their inspection revealed the fitted kitchen; the council then ordered the owners to remove it or face charges for illegally constructing a building intended as a dwelling. Ealing’s deputy leader and cabinet member for community services and safety, Councillor Ranjit Dheer said: “So-called ‘beds in sheds’ are a real problem across London for so many reasons. They don’t comply with housing safety standards or planning controls which means they’re often not properly connected to the electricity, gas, water or sewage supply, either and are generally hazardous places to live in and a serious nuisance to the people in neighbouring properties.Ealing Council will always investigate any illegal outhouses that we hear of and take firm action whenever appropriate. People might be surprised that you can be fined as much as £20,000 if you’re prosecuted and cases like these two show the consequences of putting up an illegal outhouse can still be costly for homeowners, so it really isn’t worth taking the risk.”
