Judge rules large semi-detached house in Staverton Road must be put on the market

A Willesden mother has been ordered to sell her �1million home as soon as possible to help end a family dispute.

A High Court judge has ruled that Umea Ahluwalia, 47, of Staverton Road, must sell the large semi-detached house which she jointly owns with her mother.

The High Court heard she fell out with her next-door neighbours - her mum, Kaushalya, 73, and brother and sister, Rajesh, 49, and Shweta, 37 - many years ago.

Allegations and counter-allegations have been hurled in either direction and the police and emergency services called into action on numerous occasions.

With parallel cases ongoing in three different courts, a judge last year ordered that the house, which is split into three flats, in one of which Uma lives, be sold.

However, the mother-of-one said she needs to hold on to the house so she can bring her six-year-old son home from the US to live with her and she will be left on the streets by doing so.

On Tuesday, she tried to overturn the sale order, claiming she would be left homeless, but Judge David Mackie QC said it should go ahead in a case of “irretrievable” family breakdown.

He added the relationship between the parties had become “bitter” and he had never seen a letter from daughter to mother written in “such severe terms” as one penned by Ms Ahluwalia.

He said: “The quicker this property is disposed of to narrow the extent of the bitter and irrational disputes between the parties, the better.”

The judge ordered that Uma pay �2,500 on account of costs in the appeal, but her sister, Shweta, said the case had already cost the family more than �30,000 in legal bills.

The property is expected to be sold at auction next month.