A landlord whose Soho flat was turned into a brothel without him knowing said prostitutes had men visit at all times of the day and used his luxury mugs as ashtrays.

Christian Pearce, 49, said his plush Sandringham Court flat near Carnaby Street was used as a 'cigar lounge' by three prostitutes who divided the apartment with makeshift curtains.

Christian said he only found out when residents began inundating him with calls. He said: "I thought they were joking because that has never happened before and I have been a Soho landlord for 22 years. But then I was having photos of men leaving the flat and going down the stairs at 2, 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning."

Christian claims a rogue tenant admitted to subletting the flat to the prostitutes. He said: "It's a disgrace. The whole flat stunk of cigarettes. It took a month to air it out. They used designer cups as ashtrays and ruined them.

"They put up the curtain for the windows in the middle of the living room to separate it into two rooms. I now need to repaint the ceiling. There were men coming in and out."

One resident the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to said he saw men being ferried to the building by a pedicab which would sit and wait outside at night. He said he once came across a man doing up his zipper in the hallway who began apologising and said he was there 'because of the promise of girls'.

But it's not the only problem Christian has faced leasing his two properties in Sandringham Court. He said one flat had been sublet on holiday letting sites 'three times on the trot' and now he receives alerts anytime his properties are advertised online.

He said one tenant was asked to leave after advertising property 'as soon as he got the keys' while a second is being taken to court. Christian said the building isn't insured for short-term lets and he is concerned other homeowners may force him out because he claims rogue renters are breaking conditions of the block's lease.

He said: "It's these checks the agents do, it's not enough. There should be a separate document new tenants sign making it clear that it's illegal to sublet." When the LDRS visited as part of a wider investigation into illegal sublets in Sandringham Court, it found a holidaymaker from the US who had rented Christian's flat for a week.

Brent Riley said he paid £2,400 to stay in the 2-bedroom flat with his wife and another couple after spotting it on Vrbo, a holiday-home letting site. Christian told the LDRS he charges £950 a week for rent and that his tenant has not paid in two months.

Brent said: "I'm surprised. You rent a place and you think it's all up and up but now you're telling me what we are doing is illegal and uninsured." He said the pictures advertised on Vrbo did not match the property.

Christian believes the location and quality of the flats make them a prime target for rogue renters. He said: "All it is, is money… If people like my current tenant think they can make £50k extra a year, then they will."

A Vrbo spokesperson said it is in the process of investigating the property. They said: "Vrbo's Terms and Conditions stipulate that hosts must comply with legal requirements and operate legally. We have long advocated for a national registration scheme for holiday lets, and it is encouraging that the Government is working to establish one.

"This initiative will create the first comprehensive and authoritative database of holiday homes, enabling authorities to identify and address rogue operators effectively."

Sandringham Court

'It's getting out of hand'

Christian's flats are not the only properties in Sandringham Court being advertised on holiday letting sites. The LDRS has seen an ad for a three-bedroom flat catering for seven people on Booking.com costing £1,100 a night in December.

The ad boasts of a spacious apartment in Sandringham Court fit with a flat-screen TV, kitchen, bathroom and hair dryer. It was given the highest rating of 'excellent' by the only reviewer and includes images of a plush interior. It appears mostly unavailable until mid February.

Another was advertised on London Apartments Guide, however the LDRS was unable to find out how much it costs to rent. There are also advertisements on Trip.com and London Hotels GB.

A spokesperson for Trip.com said the property was added through a third-party supplier in 2019 and was deactivated due to inactivity in 2020. They said the company regularly reviews listings to ensure they comply with its standards and local regulations and has now deleted the ad.

The spokesperson said: "At Trip.com, we work closely with our third-party suppliers to ensure that all properties listed on our platform meet the necessary legal and regulatory requirements. We remain committed to continuously improving our processes to provide a safe and reliable experience for our users."

A spokesperson for Booking.com said when accommodation providers sign up to list on Booking.com they must agree to its terms and conditions, verifying that they are legally permitted to rent out their accommodation. They said: "In the very rare instance that we might be alerted to a concern about a specific property we investigate immediately, just as we are doing in this case.

"We can then take appropriate action depending on the outcome of that investigation, including removing the property from our platform if necessary. It is the responsibility of the landlord / management company to manage a tenant's conduct and we advise partners to make their house rules clear, that address common issues."

London Apartments Guide and London Hotels GB were also contacted for comment.

It comes after residents in the building who spoke to the LDRS on the condition of anonymity said guests of holiday lets vomit in hallways, leave doors ajar and have threatened them with physical abuse. One homeowner said: "It's a disturbance and it's getting out of hand. They [the authorities] need to stop it and make people refrain from doing it."

He accused some landlords of putting their interests over those of long-term residents. He said: "It's a commercial decision for the people doing it. They don't care about others in the block."

One resident claimed a pedicab drove customers to what they believe was a brothel in their building. Picture of the court-yard in Sandringham

Another said firefighters have been called in multiple times to free guests trapped in the lift while another said it is constantly broken because holidaymakers overload it with their suitcases. He said: "They don't have any sense of responsibility."

A third said holiday-lets 'exploded' in popularity in Sandringham Court during Covid and have changed the dynamic of the building. When the LDRS visited, it saw code-locked doors on a handful of flats and signs warning homeowners against putting their flat on holiday letting sites.

Another resident said he called the police after a pair of guests attacked him with a broken glass bottle after telling them to turn down their music. He said he also found 'two piles of sick' on the staircase.

He said: "People just don't understand this building. This is where we live. For a lot of people, it's a holiday home, but this is where we live." He added: "We are all at the point of frustration."

Two elderly residents said they were not bothered by the problem. One said: "I love living here. I can't say it's troubled me too much."

Residents hope a new condition on homeowners barring subletting and requiring them to issue leases for a minimum of six months will change all this. Tim Hawkins, senior property manager at Stock Page Stock, which manages Sandringham Court, said legal matters concerning short lets in Sandringham Court are ongoing.

Westminster City Council is trying to tackle short-term lets in the borough. Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality, said: "We are continuing to investigate short-term lets to determine whether they constitute a breach of planning control.

"We are sorry to hear about the negative encounters experienced by some residents which may constitute a breach of the terms of the lease, but as this is a civil matter the council has limited powers to resolve this. We are urging the Government to pass legislation that would require all short-term lets to be registered so that we can properly regulate them and ensure compliance with all the relevant legal requirements."