A landlord must pay over £280,000 after illegally turning a semi-detached home into five “micro-flats”.

Krzysztof Pogwizd of Rickmanswor has been ordered to pay a confiscation order and fine after Ealing council said he “consistently” ignored requests to return the to a single home.

A council spokesperson says: “As the demand for housing continues to grow in the borough, it’s more important than ever that we support landlords to provide safe, high-quality homes for their tenants.

“The overwhelming majority of landlords are law-abiding and play a vital part in the local housing market, but a tiny minority continue to put their tenants at risk by forcing them to live in cramped, sub-standard living conditions.

“Anyone looking to make substantial changes to their homes must seek planning approval before doing so.”

An enforcement notice ordered Podwizd to stop letting the home as five flats and remove additional kitchens, bathrooms, and drainage connections, in early 2022.

He submitted a planning application to convert it into four flats that July, which was refused. An inspection in October that year found that it was still occupied by multiple tenants.

At a magistrates court Pogwizd admitted breaching the enforcement notice, and he was later ordered to pay a confiscation order, fine, surcharge, and costs totalling £282,915.07.

The figure reflected the amount of profit the Rickmansworth resident had made letting the flats after being told to stop.

In March 2023, Pogwizd obtained planning permission for the legal conversion of the property into three self-contained flats.