Residents complain of leaks, mould and rats

Leaking roofs, rat infestations, and walls "covered in mould" have plagued residents who bought properties from a housing developer.

A BBC investigation has revealed widespread reports of building defects from people living in properties developed by Montreaux Homes.

The business – which developed dozens of "luxury" apartment and townhouse blocks – went into liquidation in July 2024 with debts of nearly £700,000.

Montreaux Homes did not respond to requests for comment.

The BBC visited 12 sites built or converted by Montreaux across Berkshire, Surrey, Hertfordshire, and Greater London. Residents at 10 of them alleged problems with leaks, mould, poor plumbing, and other building defects.

Nick West – who lives in a Montreaux-developed home in Epsom – said he has had a rat infestation for years due to what he suspects are improperly installed drains.

"They're getting stuck in the walls and the roof and they're running around constantly. At night you can hear the critters running around … scratching and fighting and chewing at things," he said.

He said the rats often get stuck in the house and then die and decompose.

"We woke up to find maggots all over the bedroom floor one morning … one [rat] had died within the wall and eventually that body developed maggots and they came out through the walls," he said.

"The pest control people are coming along and saying - 'Well, there's nothing more we can do because they're getting in through the foundations'."

Vilius Plavinskas lived at the same development in Epsom from 2019 to 2025.

The roof of his townhouse had to be replaced because it was installed incorrectly.

"There was constant water ingress," Plavinskas said.

"We highlighted several times to both the developer and the insurance company that there might be mould growing there. We have little kids and we don't want them to get any sort of respiratory disease."

Plavinskas and his family had to move out of their home and pay for an Airbnb for three weeks while the roof was fixed.

The cost of fixing the roof was covered by a home warranty provider.

Residents at two Montreaux developments in Berkshire have alleged similar problems with leaks and mould.

Many of them declined to speak to the BBC on the record as they were concerned that this would hinder their ability to sell their flats.

The MP for Maidenhead, Joshua Reynolds, said these residents contacted him about various issues with their homes within months of moving in.

"There's several leaks in the building. A resident took me into one of their flats and it was covered in mould from water that's been coming in constantly," he said.

"There are also issues with defects ... But the question is, who pays for those defects? It should be the developer that pays for it, but the developer doesn't exist anymore."

Several residents across southern England told the BBC that when they contacted Montreaux Homes to request the company fix the issues or provide compensation they were ignored or dismissed.

The owner of Montreaux Homes, David Burke, has opened at least 27 separate companies in the UK associated with the Montreaux brand.

A former employee of Burke – who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity – claimed this allowed him to start new developments with new companies, even while existing projects were already collapsing due to significant funding issues.

"There wasn't a Montreaux Group Holdings Limited that owned all the buildings ... so if Montreaux Maidenhead went bust, it didn't drag down the next one - Montreaux Binfield, or Montreaux Bushey, or wherever else they were," the source said.

Running multiple businesses under similar names is legal in the UK.

Reynolds said tighter regulations were urgently needed.

"You might see the same developer has got 20 or 30 different companies and has had multiple of those companies go bankrupt over several years," the MP said.

"Where we see that consistent pattern, that's where we've got to get the government to step in and change things."

David Burke did not respond to repeated requests for comment.