A rogue landlord who made almost £130,000 in illegal rent after converting his three-bedroom house in east London into two flats without planning consent has been jailed after failing to pay back the money.

Akram Hussain, 57, converted the family home in Glenny Road, Barking, into a one-bedroom flat and two-bedroom flat without obtaining planning consent.

Snaresbrook Crown Court last year that Hussain, of Bedford Road in Walthamstow, received £129,755.15 in rental fees.

Hussain was sentenced and fined £5,000, under Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

He was told that if he had six month to pay back the £129,755.15 his tenants paid in rent. It was made clear that failure to pay the money within three months would result in 12 months in prison.

Having failed to stump up the cash, the 58-year old landlord was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to 280 days for failing to pay a confiscation order, which was originally issued in 2017.

The confiscation order, for the sum of £129,755.15, remains in place until it is paid in full.

Cllr Margaret Mullane, cabinet member for Enforcement and Community Safety, said: “We will continue to pursue rogue landlords and take action against the small minority who put profit ahead of people.

“The council will always take a stand against those who look to exploit residents.”