Mansion once owned by Evelyn Waugh where tenants pay just £250 a year goes on sale for £2.5million

With rent bills rocketing, it is little wonder tenants paying £250 a year to live at a Cotswolds mansion once owned by Evelyn Waugh are reluctant to leave.

But their refusal to do so is frustrating attempts to sell the property, which has been put up for auction with a guide price of £400,000 less than the £2.9million it was sold for just four years ago.

Prospective buyers are unable to view Piers Court because the current tenants are refusing to leave and will not let estate agents or buyers in.

The eight-bedroom property is in the village of Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire. Novelist Waugh bought it for £3,600 in 1937.

The former home of writer Evelyn Waugh, in Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire, is up for sale. The exclusive home is seen from the air. It boasts eight bedrooms but little is known about the current state of its interior, because its tenants will not allow prospective buyers inside

Evelyn Waugh (pictured) lived at Piers Court for 19 years and wrote novels including Brideshead Revisited, Officers and Gentlemen and Men at Arms in the library there

The auction of Piers Court takes place on December 15.

The auctioneers have warned prospective buyers: ‘The property is occupied under a Common Law Tenancy at a rent of £250 per annum.

'A notice to quit was served on the occupant on 19 August 2022 and a copy of such notice was affixed to the property gate on 22 August 2022.

'Prospective purchasers should take their own legal advice regarding this and will be deemed to bid accordingly.'

A man who answered the door to a MailOnline reporter today refused to comment. 

A public footpath runs through part of the home's grounds. 

In images that were taken today, Piers Court is seen from a public footpath that runs through the property's grounds

There are wooden gates leading up to the home. They are seen above in images that were taken today

Piers Court's name is seen engraved on a gate post outside the enormous property

The driveway leading to the property is seen above. The home was sold in the late 1980s for £1.25million

The entrance to Evelyn Waugh's former home in Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire, is pictured above

Piers Court and part of its impressive grounds are seen from the air in images that were taken today

The property would make a fabulous home for any new owner, if they can secure the departure of the tenants

The property's sweeping driveway and grounds are seen from the air today

In 2019, the home was sold for £2.9million to a company controlled by Jason Blain (pictured above in 2009 with producer Deborah Schindler), a former BBC executive

Waugh lived at Piers Court for 19 years and wrote novels including Brideshead Revisited, Officers and Gentlemen and Men at Arms in the library there.

In 2019 it was sold for £2.9million to a company controlled by Jason Blain, a former BBC executive. 

Mr Blain bought the mansion with a £2.1million loan from the London bank C Hoare & Co.

In January this year, it emerged that Mr Blain was being sued by the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel near Hyde Park over an alleged unpaid bill.

According to documents filed at the High Court, he allegedly booked a £4,275-a-night penthouse for six days but stayed for eight months. 

The eight-bedroom property is in the village of Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire. Novelist Evelyn Waugh bought it for £3,600 in 1937. It has been put up for auction with a guide price of £400,000 less than the £2.9million it was sold for just four years ago

Prospective buyers are unable to view Piers Court because the current tenants are refusing to leave and will not let estate agents or buyers in. The auction of the property takes place on December 15

Mr Blain was accused of still owing £731,500 of a £1.25million bill, alongside other fees such as £55,000 in service costs, £30,100 for valet parking and £25,497 for room service.

He was said to have emailed the luxury hotel in June last year saying: 'The bill is of course my debt and this will be reversed at a future point.' 

Mr Blain, who lives in Perthshire, Scotland, was taken to court in November 2021 by Torsten van Dullemen, the Mandarin's general manager.

They claim he paid back £508,500 of the bill, with the most recent coming on June 9, 2021, for £25,000.

The claimant said he emailed area director of finance Allan Collier to admit to owing the money and said he would pay it 'at a future point'.

But the Mandarin was then seeking the repayment for £740,832.01.