A Leeds mum says her £217,000 dream home became a four-year nightmare after her neighbour demolished half of their semi-detached house. (Photo: SWNS)
Shivarna Mitra, 44, says the £217,000 three-bedroom property in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, has been left badly damaged and is now effectively unsellable. She had spent years saving for the deposit and then invested around £80,000 transforming the house after moving in in May 2021. She invested about £35,000 in the garden alone, including Astroturf, decking and new fencing. It was sold in July 2022 for £280,000 to Rhodes. Rhodes submitted planning applications for two extensions in June and August 2022, both of which were approved by Leeds City Council. Construction began in October 2022, but Mitra said she initially had no reason to believe the work would cause such extensive problems. In January 2023, she contacted Leeds City Council, claiming the work was not complying with the planning permissions. Rhodes continued work until May 2023, when Mitra says he was served with an official stop notice. His first application, submitted in July 2023, proposed a five-bedroom house but was rejected. A second application for another five-bedroom design was approved in May 2024. Rhodes subsequently sold the plot, together with the planning permission, for £115,000 to another couple in May this year.
Because he believed it posed a danger, he said a storm had made the gable wall unsafe and that he removed it, along with another front wall,. Because she has had to keep the heating on and use portable heaters during winter, with monthly costs reaching approximately £630, she says her heating bills have risen sharply.
What was meant to be a family’s “forever home” has become a four-year ordeal for a mother in Leeds after her neighbour demolished his half of their semi-detached house. Mitra said she had spent more than a year looking for the right property before buying the three-bedroom house, according to SWNS. It had a big garden for my son to play in and enough living space for him to grow up and for us to live comfortably,” she said. Mitra said Rhodes initially appeared friendly and explained his plans for the property. He said he acted in accordance with Health and Safety Executive guidance and to protect people and neighbouring properties. The council only later told him that separate permission should have been obtained to demolish the structures, according to Rhodes. “In the time he was asked to stop he had pulled down his side of the party wall and the breeze blocks, meaning I only had a layer of bricks protecting my house from the outside,” she said. “If the council put in the stop notice in January, there would still be the shell of a house attached, and I wouldn’t be as big of a mess,” she said. “Rats got in and chewed the wires, resulting in the house needing full rewiring,” she said. She says decking had to be removed after builders working on the neighbouring foundations damaged it, leaving rats underneath. Leeds City Council confirmed that the neighbouring property was demolished “without necessary permissions” after concerns about structural stability. However, the council said an inspection of Mitra’s property found that it “remained structurally stable”. “As these are privately owned properties, the council advised Ms Mitra to contact her house insurer and take legal advice,” a council spokesperson said. Mitra says she feels the council has not done enough and claims officials have not visited her property to assess its structural condition despite her requests. She says her insurer has pursued a legal claim, but she has been told the case may not reach court for another two years. The prolonged dispute has taken a toll on Mitra, who says she was also undergoing cancer treatment and recovering from major surgery during the ordeal. “I was really chuffed when I bought it – but the whole ordeal has been a nightmare, and it’s caused me to be very ill,” she said. She now wants to leave the area but says the condition of the property has left her unable to sell it. “I spent a lot of money to turn this into a house of my dreams, but now I have nothing to show for it,” she said. Rhodes said he and his wife had also suffered financially and emotionally as a result of what he described as “a series of unfortunate circumstances”. “There were very unfortunate circumstances that cost my wife and me a significant amount of money and stress,” he said.
“It was perfect for my family. Inside, she installed a new kitchen and carried out extensive decorating and renovation work, including new plaster, carpets and wallpaper. The loft was also fully boarded. At the time, the neighbouring property was occupied by an elderly woman. But she claims their relationship deteriorated after she objected to his plans to remove the downstairs party wall. Mitra alleges the permissions were used as a pretext to demolish the adjoining property. Rhodes denies this. Her concerns increased in December when the roof of the neighbouring property was removed, leaving parts of her house exposed to the winter weather. Rhodes has disputed that account. By that stage, she claims, the demolition had already left much of the adjoining structure gone. “From the foundations, first floor, second floor, and up to the roof I am now exposed. Rhodes later sought permission to replace the demolished property. However, the house was never completed. “Water has got in through the roof and holes in the wall and has caused mould and damp, affecting my son’s chest and my health but no one cares. Mitra also claims walls have cracked and expensive wallpaper and carpets have been damaged. Rhodes denies responsibility for the problems she has described. The council added that it would continue to monitor the site and take appropriate action if necessary. “I have gone through cancer and had a major operation while all this was going on, so instead of recovering, I’m fighting battles from my hospital bed on emails. “This was a series of unfortunate circumstances that have created a bad situation, of which I tried to work with all parties concerned at every point to resolve. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Mitra believes earlier council intervention could have limited the damage.
But around 18 months later, her next-door neighbour Chris Rhodes began work on the adjoining property.
The resulting damage, she says, affected the home’s electrics, carpets and wallpaper and contributed to damp and mould. Mitra says she is not convinced the neighbouring house will ever be rebuilt and claims she has struggled to work with the new owners. With the neighbouring property gone, Mitra says her own house has deteriorated.
Mitra claims the demolition eventually left sections of her home exposed, with holes in the walls and roof allowing water to enter. She also claims rats, squirrels, wasps and other pests subsequently entered the property.