A Southampton landlord has been fined £2,700 after breaching planning rules.
Massoud Yeganegy was prosecuted after he was caught renting an annex at a property in Prince of Wales Avenue as a separate home.
The landlord, of Pinelands Road, Chilworth, previously received planning permission for a two-storey one-bedroom annex adjacent to the existing building in 2014.
As part of the permission, he was ordered to use both buildings as a single property.
But in 2015 the council received complaints that the site was being used as two separate addresses.
A visit by planning enforcement officers found that a connecting door had been locked and was due to be blocked.
A planned front fence and hedge, also a condition of the planning permission, had also not been installed.
Planners initially said this would be for visual and security reasons and would stop pedestrians using the unlit and uneven rear access track.
Yeganegy was given the opportunity to comply but failed to do so and a breach of condition notice was then issued, the city council said.
The property was then returned to a single address and the connecting door was reinstated, but in November 2022 further complaints were received.
Council officers attended again and found the connecting door plastered over, the fence and hedge were still not installed and two unrelated tenants occupied the divided property.
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The landlord was summoned to court but submitted a retrospective planning application which delayed the court case, the council said.
When this was refused he appealed the decision but entered a guilty plea to the breach at court.
Last month the original decision by the council was upheld to refuse the planning application.
Yeganegy was fined £2,730 by the court, including prosecution costs and surcharge.
He must also make the property compliant.
Yeganegy had previously had planning applications refused for the same property prior to receiving permission.
The council said any subdivision would mean the extension would be too small, as well as negatively impacting the character of the area and the amenity of neighbours.
Cllr Sarah Bogle, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “The planning system exists to balance an owners’ rights with those of their neighbours, communities, and others.
"Conditions are imposed on planning consents to ensure that developments do not place an undue burden on their neighbours, and our Planning Enforcement team has the powers to ensure that planning conditions are respected.
“In this case, our Planning Enforcement team took the appropriate action to protect the welfare of occupants as well as the amenity of neighbouring properties by bringing this prosecution.”
According to Companies House, Yeganegy is currently director of Roxan Homes Limited, MYA Property Limited and Roxan Construction Limited.
He previously ran Nursling Property Management Limited and Roxan Film Production Limited, though both companies have since dissolved.
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