Woman hit with extra court costs after botched flat revamp

An interior designer who failed to pay up when a basement extension of her apartment damaged her neighbour's flat has been hit with another £6,000 in costs by a judge.

Olivia Walton, 28, was ordered to pay nearly £120,000 to her upstairs neighbour Michele Napp after the building work left floors and walls cracked, a window subsided and caused

her tenant to leave her Chelsea home.

 

The award was made in April by a surveyor under the Party Wall Act, but Miss Walton – whose property is worth £3.1million – failed to pay up and she was ordered before Westminster Magistrates Court today to settle the matter.

 

Miss Walton had offered to pay back the sum at £1,500 per month but it was rejected because it would have taken six years to settle.

 

Westminster Magistrates Court was told business consultant Mrs Napp was now losing £4,000 a month in rent from the property, which is worth £1.5 million. 

 

Miss Walton claimed she cannot afford the payout, despite earning up to £8,000 a month in rent from the luxury townhouse.

 

A district judge ruled that the money is repayable in full as a civil debt and sent it back to the county court to be enforced.

 

Judge Mike Snow also awarded Mrs Napp, 57, another £6,000 in costs after her barrister said bringing the matter to the magistrates court was a “final resort”.