Neighbours still fuming over state of house knocked down by builder over unpaid bill

Neighbours on a street in Leicester have been left fuming over a house that sits half-built, after being hit with a bulldozer, while the owner was on holiday.

Two years ago, homeowner Jay Kurji left behind his newly renovated £500,000 home on leafy Guilford Road, in Stoneygate, to go on holiday.

While you might be expected to worry about your plants or a bit of food left forgotten in the fridge while you're away, you can generally rest assured that you'll come home to a whole building.

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Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Jay, and it was all because of an unpaid bill.

Jay fell out with a workman, who'd been carrying out work on the site, because he refused to pay him an additional £3,500 - so the builder decided to respond by bulldozing the building.

One neighbour on the street, who did not wish to be named, admitted that locals 'felt for' Jay at the time, but the sympathy has started to wane two years on, when work on the home has still not been completed.

Though the house has undergone some renovations, it's sparked frustration both because it continues to look like a 'building site', and because it doesn't quite fit in with the other homes in the area.

"It's been like living on a building site," the neighbour said.

"What has replaced it is an ugly Grand Designs-style carbuncle, which just looks completely out of place and not in keeping with the area. It towers above other people's properties and they will be able to see into other people's gardens.

"After all the mess we've had to put up we're left with this eyesore monstrosity."

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Another resident described the scene as 'diabolical', adding: “We’re unhappy with the design of the new house too as it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the houses on the street...

“On the renovation, the owner has gone up another story and if you look at it from the back of the house it’s higher than the rest of the houses and sticks out.

“The colour also makes it stick out. It is so white and even if it was painted cream, it would have been a lot better.”

One local noted that the building has 'finally begun to resemble a house' in the last few months, but noted the 'scaffolding is all still up'.

Jay has received some support from people who have said the house looked 'nice', and he's admitted previously he had a 'nightmare' when dealing with the builders when the project began.

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"Unfortunately I picked the worst builder in Britain," he said. "I bought the house last year and employed a builder to start work in February.

“We wanted lots of work doing so it could be our family home for six of us.

“The work included a two-storey extension, a new roof, wiring and we wanted it to be more environmentally-friendly. I was on holiday 200 miles away when all the scaffolding was taken down and the house damaged.

“When I called police, they told me they couldn’t do anything because it’s a dispute so not a criminal care.

“I’ve emailed Trading Standards but I’m still away so it’s difficult to sort it all out.”