Christian Pearce, above: ‘I thought they were joking because that has never happened before and I have been a Soho landlord for 22 years’

A LANDLORD whose flat was turned into a brothel without his knowing said prostitutes had men visit at all times of the day and used his luxury mugs as ashtrays.

Christian Pearce, 49, said his plush flat in Sandringham Court, Soho, was used as a “cigar lounge” by three prostitutes who divided the apartment with makeshift curtains.

Mr Pearce said a tenant admitted sub-letting the flat and he only found out when neighbours inundated him with calls.

He said: “I thought they were joking because that has never happened before and I have been a Soho landlord for 22 years. But then I was having photos of men leaving the flat and going down the stairs at two, three and four o’clock in the morning.

“It’s a disgrace.

“The whole flat stunk of cigarettes. It took a month to air it out.

“They used designer cups as ashtrays and ruined them.

“They put up the curtain for the windows in the middle of the living room to separate it into two rooms. I now need to repaint the ceiling. There were men coming in and out.”

The flat interior

One resident told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he saw men being ferried to the building by a pedicab which would sit and wait outside at night.

He said he once came across a man doing up his zipper in the hallway, who began apologising and said he was there “because of the promise of girls”.

Mr Pearce said his flat had also been sub-let on holiday letting sites “three times on the trot”.

One tenant was asked to leave after advertising the property “as soon as he got the keys”, while a second is being taken to court.

The building is not insured for short-term lets.

He said: “These checks the agents do, it’s not enough. There should be a separate document new tenants sign making it clear that it’s illegal to sub-let.”

When the LDRS visited as part of a wider investigation into illegal sub-lets in Sandringham Court, it found a holidaymaker from the United States who had rented Mr Pearce’s flat for a week.

Brent Riley said he paid £2,400 to stay in the two-bedroom flat with his wife and another couple after spotting it on Vrbo, a holiday-home letting site.

Mr Pearce said he charges £950-a-week for rent and that his tenant has not paid in two months.

Entrance to Sandringham Court in Soho

Mr Riley said: “I’m surprised. You rent a place and you think it’s all up and up but now you’re telling me what we are doing is illegal and uninsured.”

Residents hope a new condition on homeowners barring sub-letting and requiring them to issue leases for a minimum of six months will change all this.

Tim Hawkins, senior property manager at Stock Page Stock, which manages Sandringham Court, said legal matters concerning short-lets in Sandringham Court are ongoing.

A Vrbo spokesperson said: “Vrbo’s terms and conditions stipulate that hosts must comply with legal requirements and operate legally.

“We have long advocated for a national registration scheme for holiday lets and it is encouraging that the government is working to establish one.

“This initiative will create the first comprehensive and authoritative database of holiday homes, enabling authorities to identify and address rogue operators effectively.”

Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, Westminster Council’s cabinet member for city management and air quality, said: “We are continuing to investigate short-term lets to determine whether they constitute a breach of planning control.

“We are sorry to hear about the negative encounters experienced by some residents which may constitute a breach of the terms of the lease but as this is a civil matter the council has limited powers to resolve this.

“We are urging the government to pass legislation that would require all short-term lets to be registered so that we can properly regulate them and ensure compliance with all the relevant legal requirements.”