A Leeds mother has spoken out after her neighbour’s illegal demolition left her semi-detached home riddled with damage and what she calls a four-year “nightmare.”
Shivarna Mitra, 44, purchased the three-bedroom property for £217,000 in May 2021 after saving for years, then poured roughly £80,000 into renovations including a £35,000 garden re-landscaping, a new kitchen, fresh plastering, carpets, wallpaper and a fully boarded loft. She shared the home with her elderly mother and her nine-year-old son.
“It was perfect for my family,” she said. “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.”
The property next door was sold in July 2022 for £280,000 to Chris Rhodes, who submitted two extension applications to Leeds City Council that June and August, both approved. Work began that October. Mitra, who said she “didn’t know much about construction or building practices,” initially thought little of it.
By December 2022, Rhodes had removed his roof, and Mitra grew alarmed as holes opened up and winter cold poured in. She claimed that when authorities intervened, he had already torn down his side of the party wall and breeze blocks, leaving her with “only a layer of bricks protecting my house from the outside.”
Rhodes offered a different account, stating that a storm had rendered “the gable wall unsafe” and that “following HSE guidance” and “to avoid any risk or danger to others and their properties,” he proceeded to pull down that wall plus a further front wall.
Leeds City Council later confirmed the building was demolished “without necessary permissions,” though an inspection found Mitra’s property “remained structurally stable.” The council advised her to contact her insurer and seek legal counsel, adding it would “continue to monitor the site and take any appropriate action as necessary.”
The demolition unfolded while Mitra was being treated for cancer. “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,” she explained.
She described cascading damage: roof leaks spoiling electrics, carpets and wallpaper; damp and mould taking hold; rats, squirrels and wasps invading. “Rats got in and chewed the wires, resulting the house needing full rewiring,” she said. “Water has got in through the roof and holes in the wall and has caused mould and damp, affecting son chest and her health but no one cares.”
Her monthly heating bill ballooned to around £630 as she ran portable heaters alongside full-blast central heating through cracked walls. Builders had cut through her decking while messing with foundations, she said, bringing more rats underneath.
Rhodes applied in July 2023 to build a five-bedroom replacement, was refused, then won approval for a revised design in May 2024. He never finished the work, instead selling the plot with planning permission that same month for £115,000. He claimed the council treated him unfairly during the application process and denied causing any of Mitra’s problems.
“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,” Mitra said. “The list of problems is endless, and I don’t have the funds or the help to fix it.”
She added: “I didn’t ask for this, no one would ask for this, but shows it can happen to anyone. Everyone is shocked when they come and see it as they don’t expect to see the house completely removed.”
Rhodes, responding to the dispute, said: “There were very unfortunate circumstances that cost my wife and me a significant amount of money and stress. 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.”
Mitra’s £80,000 investment and years of careful planning have left her with what she calls a ruined, potentially unsellable home. “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.
