Anders Fernstedt, a former journalist, has made his home on the porch of 2-8A Rutland Gate in Knightsbridge, London. This property, once Britain's most expensive house at £210 million, boasts 45 rooms, four lifts, an indoor pool, and 116 windows, 68 of which overlook Hyde Park. Yet, it has stood empty for years.
A Palace of Contradictions
The mansion, originally a row of terraced houses, was converted into a single palace in the early 1980s by billionaire Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon. Hariri adorned it with jewel-encrusted bathroom suites and gold wastepaper bins. After his assassination in 2005, the property passed to Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Upon his death in 2011, the contents were auctioned in 2015, including Murano glass chandeliers and Lalique crystal perfume bottles.
In 2020, the house was sold for a record £210 million to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, Vision Perfect Global Limited. The ultimate beneficiary was later revealed to be Ding Yumei, the ex-wife of Hui Ka Yan, founder of the now-collapsed Evergrande empire. Hui pleaded guilty to fraud in 2024, and Ding's assets have been frozen, leaving the property's future uncertain.
The Resident on the Porch
Anders Fernstedt, 57, has lived on the porch for three years. His makeshift tent, constructed from umbrellas, is filled with baskets, books, teddy bears, and flowers. He has no access to the mansion's 24 marble bathrooms and must urinate in a plastic bottle, which he jokingly calls "Everest base camp problems."
Fernstedt's journey to homelessness began after a series of no-fault evictions and an assault. He previously worked as a journalist and studied horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. He now survives on food and clothing from a local Russian Orthodox church, where he enjoys the music. He charges his phone at a nearby Lebanese restaurant and uses their WiFi.
Housing Crisis and Inequality
The story of 2-8A Rutland Gate symbolizes the stark inequality in London's housing market. In 2025, there were over 300,000 long-term empty homes in England, with London having the highest concentration. The City of London has one in four homes not in residential use, while Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster have one in nine and one in ten, respectively. Meanwhile, 340,000 households in London are on waiting lists for social housing.
Chris Bailey of Action on Empty Homes notes that new builds often cater to luxury buyers rather than addressing the housing crisis. "Towers of luxury apartments don't house poor or homeless people," he says. The government estimates 1,277 people sleep rough in London on any given night.
A Pretend Reality
Fernstedt copes with his situation by imagining it as a child's adventure: "It's my pretend reality. I'm a child, my parents are in the house. I just asked them: 'Can I camp in the treehouse?'" He remains cheerful despite his circumstances. "No money is better than a little money," he says. "Once I know what I don't have, it's easy sailing."
The juxtaposition of a homeless man on the doorstep of a £200 million empty mansion highlights the absurdity of the housing crisis. As Rowland Atkinson, author of Alpha City, puts it: "It's bizarre and perverse that, in the middle of a housing crisis, you can find a magnificent home like that lying empty for years."
