Aristocrats sue their Airbnb landlord after he cut power at luxury pad

Aristocrats sue their Airbnb landlord for £25,000 after he cut off electricity at their deluxe £3,435 per month Maida Vale apartment leaving them ‘living in total darkness’ when ‘they fell behind on rent’

• Countess Christine Bolza and Count Nike Bolza have launched the legal action 
• The pair had clashed with landlord Talha Abbasi after developing cash problems 
• It followed the collapse of their property development firm Niboco Ltd, in July 
• The couple are suing Mr Abbasi to compensate for ‘anxiety’ and ‘mental stress’

A furious aristocrat is bringing a £135,000 court case against a landlord over claims he cut off the electricity in her Airbnb after a row over money.

Countess Christine Bolza, 48, says she and Austrian husband, Count Niki Bolza, were left ‘living in total darkness’ with ‘no lighting or heating or fridge’ after falling out with the owner of an Airbnb in London which the couple rented last year. 

Count Niki Bolza, 51, is the son of publishing boss and architect Count Antonio Bolza, an aristocrat of Austro-Hungarian and Italian descent who carved out a 2,000-acre estate around the historic castle of Castello di Reschio, in Umbria, where his family live today.

The posh pair needed a short-term home having uprooted from their previous pad in Mayfair – after the countess complained it had too many flights of stairs – and moved into a deluxe apartment near Portobello Road in November last year.

But the couple clashed with landlord Talha Abbasi when they developed cash flow problems in the lead-up to the collapse of their property development company Niboco Ltd, which was wound up in July. 

Countess Christine Bolza (pictured) says she and husband, Count Niki Bolza, were left ‘living in total darkness’ with ‘no lighting or heating or fridge’ after falling out with the owner of an Airbnb in London which the couple rented last year

Count Niki Bolza the son of publishing boss and architect Count Antonio Bolza, an aristocrat of Austro-Hungarian and Italian. He is pictured outside Mayor’s and City County Court

They claim that when they started falling behind on their rent in March, Mr Abbasi responded by cutting off their power for 20 days, leaving the aristocratic couple ‘homeless at home,’ stripped of light, heat and cooking facilities, and unable to use telephones, TV or computers.

When the couple told the landlord they were struggling, he was unmoved and ‘repeatedly chased for payment of the outstanding sums’, Countess Christine told Mayor’s and City County Court.

She is now suing Mr Abbasi for £25,000 to compensate her for the ‘anxiety, inconvenience and mental stress’ caused by alleged attempts to force her family from their temporary home by axing the power supply.

She and her family were further put out by the loss of internet access, the court heard, and Countess Christine says she was also harassed by Mr Abbasi ‘attempting to gain access to the apartment in an intimidatory and aggressive manner’.

Defending the case, which has already racked up around £110,000 in lawyers’ fees, Mr Abbasi accepts the couple’s electricity cut out after he stopped topping up their meter, but says he only did this after his electrician refused to sign it off as safe.

He also denies any suggestion of harassment, insisting he only tried to get an electrician to access his flat for health and safety reasons. He also claims he is owed £40,000 in rent arrears.

The couple clashed with landlord Talha Abbasi (pictured) when they developed cash flow problems in the lead-up to the collapse of their property development company Niboco Ltd

Count Niki, a high-flying property developer as well as a designer, played a key part in renovating his family’s Italian estate alongside his architect brother, Benedikt, and Castello di Reschio is now a world-renowned retreat for the wealthy, boasting seven luxury farmhouse stays.

In 2019, the couple’s company was behind plans to redevelop a massive department store in Liverpool into a 157-bedroom hotel, but by March 2022, as the company inched towards collapse, he and his wife were suffering cash flow problems.

Explaining the countess’ case, her barrister Michael Marsh-Hyde told the court: ‘In early March 2022, she and her husband had financial difficulties and were unable to make the full rent payment for the premises.

‘They notified (Mr Abbasi) and he repeatedly chased for payment of the outstanding sums.

‘It is our case that Mr Abbasi threatened to withdraw electricity unless she vacated the premises the next day. On March 16 2022, the electricity was disconnected.

‘She contacted Mr Abbasi by Whatsapp and email and he repeatedly emailed the claimant, informing her that she must vacate the premises on 17 March 2022, and that electricity would only be topped up once she had agreed to vacate the premises.

‘The electricity remained disconnected at the premises from 16 March 2022 until 4 April 2022. There was equally no internet provision during this period.’

The Count and Countess had paid £3,435 per month for their rental in the swanky London suburb of Maida Vale before they ran into money issues

Woodfield Place, in Maida Vale, where the aristocratic couple were renting their swanky Airbnb apartment

Countess Christine told the court she and her husband left their previous rental ‘because there were five flights of stairs and I couldn’t carry things up and down any more’.

Once the electricity was cut off at Harland House, the block where the apartment is situated, she and her family were ‘struggling on a daily basis trying to make do’, she told the court.

‘We were living in an apartment with no electricity and no hot water – no amenities whatever,’ she said.

‘There was no lighting or heating or fridge, we were living in total darkness.’

Countess Christine said she had reached a point where she couldn’t trust anything Mr Abbasi said to her and claimed that turning the power off and on was simply a ‘bargaining chip’ for her landlord.

She and her husband had paid £3,435 per month for their rental in the swanky London suburb of Maida Vale.

She told the judge that because they had stayed for an extended period in the apartment they had in effect an ‘assured shorthold tenancy,’ giving her strong legal rights.

And she told the court: ‘We had a verbal agreement that we could stay in the property as long as we needed.’

Her barrister added: ‘The parties expressly agreed they would reach the agreement separate from the holiday letting system provided for by Airbnb.’

But Mr Abbasi says the flat was only ever rented out to the couple as an Airbnb ‘holiday’ rental, which conferred limited rights as a tenant.

Mr Abbasi is defending the claim, vigorously disputing allegations of breach of covenant, attempted unlawful eviction, interference and harassment.

He insists the countess and count, who are still in place, are now squatters who have not paid their rent in full since February this year.

In court, his barrister, Tom Carter, said Mr Abbasi also repeatedly offered to find alternative accommodation for the Bolza family but was turned down.

Judge Stephen Hellman has now reserved his ruling in the case until a later date.

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