A SLOUGH couple who received £640 a month from renting out a ‘bed in a shed’ have been told to cough up more than £15,000.

Paul and Maria Vig, of Scotlands Drive, Farnham Common, and Fawsley Close, Slough, respectively, illegally let out the property for more than three years.

The structure was located in the garden of a house in Reddington Drive, Langley, and contained a shower room, a washing machine and white goods.

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Slough Borough Council, which issued an enforcement notice against the structure in 2015, said the property resembled a ‘bed in a shed’ as it contained ‘everything needed to be an independent self-contained unit’.

At Reading Crown Court earlier this month, Paul Vig, 58, was sentenced for ignoring the enforcement notice after it was discovered he was renting out the property for £160 per week.

In her judgement, Judge Nott said: “I am satisfied that Mr Vig knew full well that the continued commercial use of the outbuilding was in breach of the enforcement notice.

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“Photographs dated 24 July 2019 show a kitchenette – washing machine, microwave, fridge freezer, washing facilities, cupboards with food and glassware.

“With or without the kitchen equipment, this is a self-contained unit of accommodation and the tenancy agreements show that this is how it was let.

“As a commercial landlord he has a clear duty to understand and comply with all rules, regulations and notices pertaining to the properties he rents out.

“The offending is aggravated by the length of time over which it was committed, the fact that it was committed for financial gain, the poverty of amenity provided by the property to the tenant of the outbuilding and the adverse effect on the tenant of the main property.”

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Councillor Beni Bains, cabinet member for public protection, said: “Beds in sheds will not be tolerated in the borough.

“They are not suitable accommodation for the resident and they are just designed to make money out of the most vulnerable.

“Planning enforcement will continue to seek out landlords who act in this unlawful way.”

Paul Vig was fined £5,000 and was told to pay this in six months or he will spend three months in prison.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £8,161.67.

His wife Maria Vig, 40, was given a six-month conditional discharge but was ordered to pay £4,000 in costs.

They were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on October 6.