A grandmother fears she could be evicted from her council home after spending £30,000 on a garden renovation without planning permission.
Renata Mahmoud, 48, transformed her overgrown garden in Moulsecoomb, East Sussex, into a three-tier patio, but Brighton and Hove City Council claims she has breached her tenancy agreement.
The council has referred the matter to the courts, though they insist eviction is "always a last resort" and there are "no current plans to proceed with eviction at this stage".
Mahmoud, who has lived in the property for 19 years, now faces the prospect of having to return the garden to its original state.
The grandmother spent £30,000 on a garden makeover (stock image)
GETTYShe decided to transform the space after one of her children was injured while playing in the garden.
"The garden before was awful, you couldn't do anything, no gardener would do it," Mahmoud told the MailOnline.
Renovation work began in 2023 when she saved enough money to level out the sloped garden into a three-tier patio.
The £30,000 project included cutting back trees, levelling the ground and laying down patio areas.
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She said: "I've been asking the council for years, please could you help me out to make it level.
"I don't want you to make it nice, I just want you to help me to start off, to do the level, I don't want you to design for me."
Mahmoud claimed the council declined to provide any support. She stated the council "does not have any money" and it is "the tenants' responsibility".
The grandmother added: "I didn't know I had to apply for planning permission, and I am sorry. But I can't just put it back like it was. It was dangerous, it was very hilly, all it had were sorts of bricks, broken metals, foxes and snakes."
The grandmother claimed that she had snakes in her garden (stock image)
GETTY
She expressed frustration at the council's reaction to her improvements.
Mahmoud stated: "They should've been happy that one of their council tenants was trying to improve their property.
"This house is my precious, you know, and I will do anything to do something nice."
The prospect of eviction has left the 48-year-old deeply concerned.
"We will sleep on the streets if we're evicted," she warned.
