High Court Crushes Appeal as Rogue Landlord Couple Faces £679k Ruin and Prison

A multi-year game of cat-and-mouse between Brent Council and a professional property duo has culminated in a landmark legal defeat, leaving a husband-and-wife team facing a staggering £679,142 financial penalty and the immediate threat of imprisonment. Inderjeet Singh Chhokar and his wife Jasvinder Chokkar, British nationals of South Asian heritage based in Hayes, saw their final avenues of appeal vanish as the court moved to strip them of every penny generated from an illegal "shoebox" flat scheme.

The case centers on a standard three-bedroom family home in Brent that the couple, operating through their firm Housing Solutions (GB) Ltd, systematically carved into six substandard, cramped rental units. Despite being ordered by local authorities to reverse the work years ago, the Chokkars—who have a long history of directorships across multiple property investment firms—chose to ignore enforcement notices in favor of a lucrative, unauthorized rent roll.

Legal proceedings revealed that the Chokkars are not novice investors but seasoned property figures. Companies House records show Inderjeet Chhokar, born in 1978, has held directorships in at least six companies, including Foxcott Ltd and Bluewhale Investments Limited, highlighting a sophisticated understanding of the sector that the court found made their "years of defiance" even more egregious. This professional background worked against them during the sentencing and appeal phase, as judges dismissed any claims of ignorance regarding planning law, citing a clear and calculated financial motive.

The High Court’s decision to throw out their appeal has triggered a massive Confiscation Order under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The pair has been ordered to pay back £564,367, representing the total estimated profit siphoned from the illegal conversion. In addition to the confiscation, the punitive measures are severe. Inderjeet Chhokar was personally fined £25,000 and issued a 12-month "pay or stay" prison warning. Jasvinder Chokkar received a £15,000 fine with an eight-month jail term hanging over her, while their company was hit with an additional £25,000 penalty.

Brent Council’s planning enforcement team, which led the investigation, confirmed that the total bill includes nearly £50,000 in legal and prosecution costs. This latest judgment is being hailed as a defining moment in the borough’s crackdown on rogue landlords who exploit the housing crisis. Councillor Krupa Sheth noted that the severity of the fine serves as a warning that those who prioritize profit over human living standards will be pursued until they are no longer financially viable. With the appeal now exhausted, the Chokkars face a race against the clock to settle the debt or face the reality of a cell door closing behind them.