One bed or two? Council in right to buy fiasco

IT is the dream of most homeowners to discover their property has doubled in value.

But not when the cause is the seller changing their mind about the price two years later – and demanding £360,000 more.

But that is what happened to Anthony Zomparelli, 54, who had jumped at the chance to buy his council flat in 2014.

The father of four had lived in it as a tenant for 13 years when Islington Council in North London valued it at £340,000.

Due to his long-term tenancy, he qualified for a discount of £102,700 under the Right to Buy scheme. So he got a mortgage for £237,300 and bought the flat.

But in 2016 the council wrote to him saying the flat had been wrongly valued because officials thought it had one bedroom, rather than two. He was told it should have cost him £700,000.

Now the council is taking him to court to get the extra money

‘It has ruined my life’

or repossess the property. Mr Zomparelli said: ‘I would never have bought the property if I knew it was going to cost £700,000. I have no idea how they can justify asking for that much more money.

‘It has always been a two-bed flat, never a one-bed.

‘It’s madness. They’ve doubled the price of a property based on a box room. How can they expect me to afford to pay?

‘They’ve clearly made a massive mistake and it’s no fault of mine. It has ruined my life. It has caused me depression and I’ve had to go to the doctor.

The security guard fears that even if he wins the legal case brought by the council to Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court, he will face ruinous legal fees of more than £60,000.

An Islington Council spokesman said: ‘As legal proceedings are ongoing, we’re not currently able to provide a statement.’