RADIO DJ TRIES TO EVICT SISTER IN £1.2M INHERITANCE ROW
A radio DJ tried to evict his sister from their mother’s £1.2m London home in a bitter inheritance fight, a court heard.
Philip Chryssikos, 52, a presenter on Smooth Radio, began legal action to sell the property and obtain his share of the inheritance by forcing Maria, 56, to leave their childhood home.
The sister had never moved out of the family house in Acton, west London, having cared for their ill mother during the final years of her life.
When Stella Chryssikos died in 2020, she left the house worth up to £1.2m to each of them in equal shares.
However, a judge has rejected Mr Chryssikos’s attempt to move his sister out, after ruling the property could not be sold until Ms Chryssikos reached the age of 70.
Central London County Court heard that their mother had left the house in Popes Lane to both of them, but Mr Chryssikos wanted to sell it to receive money.
The radio DJ admitted the relations between him and his sister were poor and that they frequently engaged in “whirlwind arguments”.
It was heard Ms Chryssikos had dedicated years of her life to the “hard job” of being their elderly mother’s “primary carer”.
Their late mother left a letter detailing that she wanted the house to remain Ms Chryssikos’s home without the threat of eviction after her death, but that the proceeds it raised would still be inherited equally between them.
Richard Buston, representing Ms Chryssikos, said: “The deceased led Maria to believe that the property was to be Maria’s home for the rest of her life and that Maria – and Philip if he so wished – would always be able to live at the property.
“In particular, the deceased made clear to Philip and Maria from late 1999 onwards that she wanted Maria to remain at the property after her death and that she should not be evicted or have to pay rent.”
The court heard Ms Chryssikos had spent a large amount of her money on the upkeep of the property.
Giving evidence, she told the judge she had a volatile relationship with her brother, whom she described as a “monster” when he returned to live in the house after a relationship breakdown in 2016.
Mr Chryssikos claimed he and his sister had been “joint carers” and denied their mother had intended for them to live in the house “for life”.
Making his ruling, Judge Ashby said it was a “complete tragedy” that the siblings had ended up fighting each other in court.
“The relationship between the parties is, on any measure of it, volatile – it is one fraught with aggression,” he said.
“The fact they’re here is a tragic disaster. It is siblings pitting against each other in a war of inheritance. Their mother would not have wanted to see them here.”
He rejected Mr Chryssikos’s order for sale with vacant possession, while he had already dropped a claim for rent from his sister during the trial.
Ms Chryssikos was given the right to reside at the property for another 14 years, until she reached 70 years of age.
The judge did, however, reject Ms Chryssikos’s bid for a life interest in the house and her application to bring a claim for increased provision from her mum’s will was also refused.
2025-11-04T12:25:45Z