A man who repeatedly tried to extend his house without planning permission has been jailed. Trevor Hadjimina was sentenced to six months in prison after being found guilty of contempt of court, a civil offence.
Background of the Case
Southwark Council first took legal action against Hadjimina in 2017 over his attempts to build on top of a single-storey extension at his property in Relf Road, Peckham, south London. He has lived at the property since 1991.
In 2018, the council obtained an injunction barring Hadjimina from carrying out unauthorised works after he claimed the construction was a caravan. The court ordered him to cease all work and remove a timber frame structure and four courses of brickwork built on top of the extension. He complied for several years.
Further Breaches
Last year, the council returned to the High Court, asking a judge to find Hadjimina in contempt for undertaking further work in breach of the injunction. Mr Justice Cotter found two allegations of contempt proven in March but delayed sentencing after Hadjimina indicated willingness to demolish the structure.
However, at a hearing on Thursday (April 23), the same judge jailed him after the council claimed he had resumed building works. Hadjimina did not attend the hearing.
Judge's Ruling
Mr Justice Cotter noted an extensive history of Hadjimina seeking to build on top of the extension. Last year, he constructed a large timber-framed structure, which he later removed, but then began building a substantial brick structure in its place.
During a March hearing, Hadjimina advanced a position akin to a 'freeman of the land,' refusing to accept he was bound by the injunction or that the court had power over him. The judge called this idea 'hopelessly misconceived' and some of his arguments 'nonsense.'
The judge found both the wooden and brick structures breached the 2018 injunction, constituting deliberate and flagrant contempt. He stated: 'These were serious breaches. I am wholly satisfied that Trevor breached the injunction order deliberately rather than inadvertently and was fully aware that he was openly defying a court order.'
Concluding that the gravity of the contempt meant the sentence could not be suspended, the judge added: 'This is the danger of the various freeman of the land theories; they bring the defendants into conflict with the rule of law. It is not a conflict that they will win and in the process, they frequently, as with Trevor, act to their own very significant detriment.'
Contempt of court can lead to up to two years in prison or a fine.
