Indian billionaire and his Bollywood star wife ‘buy up five flats in Notting Hill block to turn into servants’ quarters for their £21million mansion – and threaten to turn them into social housing if neighbours complain’

When an Indian clothing mogul and his Bollywood actress wife bought a run-down mansion for £21 million three years ago, it hardly raised eyebrows among wealthy residents of Notting Hill.

Shortly after purchasing the 200-year-old property in West London in 2023, billionaire Anand Ahuja, 42, and Sonam Kapoor, who has 33 million Instagram followers, presented plans to completely destroy the property.

They proposed tearing out everything inside, keeping only the four exterior walls, and building an underground basketball court as well as a swimming pool in the basement.

Apart from some disturbance and some building noise, residents living in ‘Hillcrest’, a block of flats adjacent to the property, did not feel they had cause for concern.

What followed was a three-year planning debate in which opposition objections flew back and forth until the billionaire couple finally received planning approval.

But at what cost?

Fast forward to today, and the consequences of these objections are clear.

The same residents accuse their wealthy neighbors of buying five flats in their block for a total of around £4 million, which they say will be used as ‘maids’ quarters’.

Shortly after purchasing the 200-year-old property in 2023, the couple presented plans to transform it

Their plans essentially involved tearing out everything but four walls on the property and building a swimming pool and underground basketball court in the basement.

As well as transforming the house, a company linked to the couple has purchased five flats worth a total of £4 million in an adjacent block called ‘Hillcrest’, which residents say will be used as ‘maids’ quarters’ for staff working on the couple’s magnificent property.

Residents who spoke to the Daily Mail today claim the five flats, which were bought by a company linked to the couple, could lead to undue influence over their block’s board of directors in approving regeneration designs.

The firm also purchased the block’s garage, which is currently used as a warehouse but could house some of the couple’s car collection.

But when locals raised their concerns, they claimed they were warned in a private meeting with a company spokesman that the flats would be made available for ‘social housing’ if they made a fuss.

An email exchange between residents and Shahi Exports seen by the Daily Mail suggested that publishing any article detailing the concerns could allegedly lead to this outcome.

One homeowner told us: ‘We are afraid to speak out just because they are powerful.

‘We’ve built a sense of community here and that’s changing because some billionaires want to make our home another playground.

‘This will change even more if they let people in from what they call ‘social housing’. A strange threat. Everything stinks.

‘No one even lives in some apartments anymore. Some are being completed. But behind the scenes, they have a say in what goes on here.

‘How is this acceptable?’

Another resident said legal letters had previously been sent by landlords from some of the 23 flats at Hillcrest about plans for the house next door.

They said: ‘We are afraid to speak out because we don’t want to be sued by billionaires. They already made threats after some of us spoke to the press.

‘The plans were approved by the council two weeks ago so now we have a noise scare. There is a border wall all around this land.

‘There are currently four voting rights in our building and only 23 flats.

‘They had a changing staff, called staff or servants, who constantly moved around an apartment.

‘Construction plans were approved two weeks ago. There was a huge planning battle and an appeal.

‘We think the work will start soon.

‘I think this is the changing face of London. There’s this sense of entitlement in living next to a billionaire.

‘You get the sense that they feel they can do anything they want. We always had rules about how people could renovate a building and how you were supposed to interact with the managing agent.

‘But when people come with this much money, they don’t do the things they used to do anymore.’

The couple are said to have already spent £4.7 million on work on the mansion.

Another resident defended the couple, saying: ‘It’s part of life in a city like London’, adding: ‘It’s like a storm in a teacup’.

They claimed their new neighbors were being reasonable.

Kapoor, 40, has starred in a number of big productions in Bollywood and is the daughter of Anil Kapoor, 69, who played the game show host in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

The third-generation Bollywood star, whose last film will be released in 2023, promoted brands such as Dior and Lancome on social media.

The 40-year-old Bollywood actress has 33 million followers on Instagram and is the daughter of Anil Kapoor, 69, who played the game show host in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Tensions are rising in that quiet corner of Notting Hill over Kapoor and Ahuja’s big plans to renovate their £21m west London mansion

The couple are said to have already spent close to £5m renovating the property, which is visible from the side door, following years of planning wrangling.

Ahuja works for Shahi Exports, a clothing manufacturer owned by the billionaire family.

The power couple also has homes in Delhi and Mumbai, as well as an apartment and studio in Notting Hill that was featured in an Architectural Digest video.

A representative of the couple said that Kapoor had no direct relationship with the company that bought the flats and that the flats were bought for investment purposes.

They have been contacted for further comment.