A landlord who unlawfully converted a house into nine flats has found himself £15,495 out of pocket after conviction at Enfield and Haringey Magistrates Court.

Andreas Antoniades, of Hornsey Park Road, first converted the house in Woodstock Road N8, into nine flats in 2011 without planning permission. The council asked him to return the property back into a single house later that year, which he did.

Subsequent inspections in 2012 found the house being re-converted into flats, in breach of an earlier enforcement notice. The owner was warned about this and said he would halt the conversions.

However, further site visits showed the property was being used again as nine flats which were being let at around £160 per week, prompting the prosecution.

At Enfield and Haringey Magistrates Court Antoniades pleaded guilty to breaching an enforcement order and was fined £13,500 with costs of £1,980 and victim surcharge of £15.

Councillor Nilgun Canver, cabinet member for the environment, said: "There are good reasons why landlords need to get permission before converting houses into flats. This can be because there are too many converted properties in a street, the property is not suitable for conversion or because there are other health, safety or social issues that need to be considered.”