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IF IT wasn't for one man, a rambling Edwardian house on one of Wimbledon's finest roads would be worth as much as £6 million. As things stand, its last remaining sitting tenant is refusing to budge.
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Paul Coleman found a flat in the house nearly 30 years ago for only £7 a week rent.
With the District line, Wimbledon Common, the All England Tennis Club and the picturesque village all close to hand, it was the ideal location.
Twenty-nine years on he is determined to hold on to his onebedroom flat in the face of legal action by the new owner - City investment banker John Wilson, who wants him out so he can transform the 1911 building into his family home.
The dispute will be aired at Kingston County Court next week. 'When Mr Wilson bought this place he knew there were sitting tenants here,î said Mr Coleman, a photography teacher.
'If we had all died off he would have been very happy, but I'm still here and I refuse to move until he offers me suitable accommodation at a similar price.'
As a sitting tenant who moved in before 1988, Mr Coleman enjoys protection under the Rent Act, and now pays £80 a week. Mr Wilson is obliged to offer him alternative accommodation at a similar rent. This, claims Mr Coleman, has not been forthcoming.
Eight years ago, Mr Coleman's original landlady, a 94-year-old widow, died. She had bought the house in the 1930s for £7,000.
Mr Coleman says her nephews and nieces sold it four years ago to Mr Wilson, 55, and his wife Michelle for £1.75 million. Mr Wilson, a director with Lehman Bros, inherited Mr Coleman as a tenant, along with three others.
One left, one died while a third took up the offer of another flat. Mr Coleman, 57, was offered a flat close by, backing on to a railway line. He turned it down.
He turned down another flat in Wimbledon that he claimed had been subject of several complaints about poor maintenance.
' I'm a protected tenant and under the law I have the right to be offered suitable accommodation at a similar rent,î he said.
'I know I'm very lucky. I know the rent is a bargain at the moment. But if you find a bargain in a junk shop you don't go back a few days later and offer to pay twice the amount for it.î
Mr Wilson, who also owns a £2m Edwardian family home near Wimbledon Village, has big plans for his new property. One wing has been knocked down and is being rebuilt with a swimming pool, garages and flats.
Architects' plans that Mr Coleman says he has seen show Mr Wilson wants to refurbish the main building with seven master bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms and reception rooms. Before the project can take shape, however, Mr Coleman has to go.
Mr Wilson's solicitor, Clive Wismayer, said: 'There is no doubt the house is run-down and decrepit. It is now being refurbished.
'Mr Coleman has been offered alternative accommodation, which, in our view, is superior to what he has now.'
Answering the door at their home, Mrs Wilson refused to talk about the case. 'We're going to court and a decision will be made by a judge. It's not something I wish to discuss,' she said.
Mr Wilson was in New York, unavailable for comment.
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