Sophie Mitchell on a conviction for a breach of planning regulations that saw residents lives “made a misery”

A row of terraced house in North Finchley — The properties in Grove Road (Credit – Barnet Council)

A North Finchley landlord has been ordered to pay a large fine for illegally letting two flats as short term rentals.

Manager George Nathanel, working on behalf of Zenobia Properties, was issued a notice to cease use of the properties in November 2023 by Barnet Council but received a fine of £75k plus costs at Willesden Magistrates’ Court last week after failing to comply.

The Grove Road flats were granted planning permission in January 2016 to be used as ‘self-contained, single household’ residences, but the Barnet Council enforcement team found that they were being advertised as short term rentals on at on Airbnb and Booking.com.

Neighbours had complained to the council about “significant noise disturbances” after the flats were rented by large groups for parties, leading the council to investigate a potential breach of planning control.

Victim statements shared included a local resident who described the rentals as having a “detrimental impact on his life, his work and mental health” and had “severely impacted his ability to sleep and has made living in the property unbearable.”

Nathanel did not appear at the hearings at Willesden Magistrates Court, claiming he was in Russia with his children and awaiting an operation. He claimed he was unaware that the properties were up for short term rentals, but had been described in reviews on the Airbnb listings as “an amazing, attentive and responsive host.”

Nathanel was sentenced on 26th June for failing to comply with the breach of conditions notice issued by the council, incurring a fine of £75,000, in addition to a £5,400 charge for council costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.

Councillor Ross Houston, cabinet member for homes and regeneration, said: “We gave Mr Nathanel ample opportunity to stop using the properties as short term rentals”

“We would like to thank the residents who brought this case to our attention. This is a great result for the neighbours whose lives were made a misery by the illegal letting of these flats on Airbnb and Booking.com.”

There are 2,344 Airbnb listings in Barnet with a 66% occupancy rate. Concerns about the impact of short term rentals on house prices have been increasing across the UK with a high volume of listings and perceptions that many councils fail to enforce regulations around planning permission.

At time of publication, listings and booking information for the Grove Road flats were still available on the Airbnb and Booking.com websites.

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