Surrey files Notice on Title against 3 properties for illegal builds
Published 3:00 pm Monday, July 20, 2026
The City of Surrey has filed Notices on Title for illegal construction against three North Surrey properties.
A special meeting was held on July 20 at City Hall where council deliberated over two cases in Newton at 6770 128B Street and 12439 72 Avenue, and a third in Whalley at 13050 Pekin Place.
The notices serve to alert potential buyers, lenders, and insurers about sites of illegal construction and the potential risks associated with the properties, pursuant to Section 57 of the Community Charter.
Surrey launched its Illegal Construction Enforcement Team (ICET) in 2022,to crack down on unpermitted residential builds.
Assistant city solicitor Guillermo Flores argued the City’s cases.
The first property is at 12439 72 Avenue, owned by Mohammed Maqsood Sheikh and Saman Rukh.
City staff made numerous visits to their property and confirmed it contains among a “non-exhaustive” list of unpermitted construction six self-contained dwellings, a garage converted into “habitable space,” an enclosed deck on the north side of the house and a two-storey addition behind the house.
City hall issued $898 in site visit fees which hasn’t been paid as well as eight bylaw enforcement notices, for a total of $3,350, which has been paid. Flores said there have been no attempts on the owners’ part to bring the property into compliance.
Sheikh, 70, pleaded “hardship” in paying his taxes, saying it’s “hard to survive.” He told council he collects $6,000 monthly in rent. “I’m very sorry for this but I’m really stuck with things.”
Flores replied that Sheikh’s expressed financial difficulties taxes and this matter before council are “unrelated. He did undertake pretty substantial costs in construction, costing approximately $200,000 which logically could have also paid for those taxes.”
Next up was 6770 128B Street, owned by Hari Singh and Sunpreet Kaur. Council heard their property has an unpermitted two-storey addition that includes two self-contained dwellings, a laundry room and a metal awning on the north side of the property. City hall issued $912 in site visit fees, which has been paid, as well as a $250 bylaw enforcement notice that remains unpaid.
The owners didn’t attend. “They were made aware of this hearing,” Flores said. “Again, there’s been no attempt on the part of the owners to bring this property to compliance.
“There’s been no attempt at all by the owners to even apply for a permit,” the lawyer told council.
Third up was 13050 Pekin Place. Council heard the property was bought by Jagjit Singh Sanghera, Jasveer Kaur Sanghera and Harpreet Singh Sanghera in July 2021 but in January 2026, Jagit Singh Sanghera was removed from the title and replaced with Arshdeep Kaur Gill. Jasveer Kaur Sanghera, Harpreet Singh Sanghera and Arshdeep Kaur Gill remain the registered owners of the Property. They did not attend the hearing.
A City of Surrey building inspector visited the property on August 13, 2021 and observed unpermitted construction there. Since then, city staff made numerous visits and confirmed it contains a two-storey addition at the rear of the house and three self-contained dwellings.
City hall issued six bylaw enforcement notices to the tune of $3,000, which has not been paid.
“A stop-work order was posted very early on – it was in the framing stages. That notice was ignored,” Flores noted. “Again, no efforts by the owners to bring this property into compliance whatsoever.”