A council has publicly announced that property firm Doveplay Limited has been ordered to pay over £4,000 after it converted a residential building without planning permission.

Doveplay Limited converted a property in Kensington into studio apartments then ignored an information request from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

After pleading guilty last Tuesday to not responding to the request, the company were forced to pay £3,214.60 in costs within 28 days and fined £800 for non-compliance with a Planning Contravention Notice.

Doveplay had advertised 16 en-suite rooms at 83 Holland Road, W14 on websites like Tripadvisor, Booking.com and Laterooms to attract tourists to rent the property.

Planning Enforcement Officers from the Council uncovered that the property was intended for use as a HMO but instead it was being utilised for short-term/holiday letting.

With HMOs in short supply in Kensington and Chelsea, Doveplay Limited was given six months from January to convert the property back to 13 HMO units and two months to stop using it as temporary sleeping accommodation.