A couple living in a flat at Hampton Court claim they are being evicted for using an estimated £32 of electricity to charge their car.
Christopher Brown, 33, and Daisy Bow Du Toit, 31, received a letter in October telling them they had to be out of their home in Royal Mews, Hampton Court before Christmas.
The couple, whose rent is £1,175 a month, ran up the estimated £32 bill charging their electric Volkswagen eGolf using a powerpoint in a communal boiler room.
They are now speaking out after discovering Royal Household tenants aren't protected by legislation which prevents people from being kicked out with less than six months notice during the pandemic.
Until the coronavirus outbreak, the couple had relied on Christopher's workplace to charge their car, but once in lockdown they were no longer able to access it.
The pair say it was a “time of real need” and they only used it to charge the car for emergencies, grocery shopping, and to help find work for Daisy after she lost her job as a carer.
Before buying the car, Christopher - a design engineer at an automative company- asked the Royal Household about having a charger installed. He said they initially seemed “receptive” but later refused and stuck to their guns when he appealed the decision.
The heartbroken couple have lived at the address for the last five years and described their time in the stunning period property as “a fairytale”.
They have two cats and have spent time and money landscaping a shared garden which they described as a wasteland when they moved there.
Christopher said: “We immediately wrote a letter of apology to say it was a time of real need during the pandemic and lost access to the charger at work.
“I said I could pay for it and and any fine they wanted as well. I even suggested something like £800.
“I think the royal family are all for green stuff but when it comes to the nitty gritty of them actually doing stuff here they just don’t really want to.”
South African PhD student at Kingston University, Daisy, added: "The Queen of England has evicted us from our home of the last five years.
"This is the first home that we've moved in together and we've taken such good care of it.
"We have raised two adorable and well behaved cats, Luna and Kali and know it is going to be hard to find another suitable home that accepts us and the cats.
"The saddest part is that two years ago we started landscaping and planting in a communal garden that was derelict and have literally poured hours and hours of labour in all seasons with what little money we had into making this space green and beautiful for both nature and our neighbours."
She added: "There was no warning, no questions, just an eviction letter. We have apologised, explained the situation and offered to pay.
"Other renters are protected during the pandemic and get six months but as we rent from the Royal Household we have a non-assured agreement contract so are not protected.
"We're really sad and feel powerless.
“Before getting the electric car there was discussion about the ability to charge the car or have a charger put in but they said no.”
The couple now have just weeks to find a new place to live but say they are struggling in the lockdown market.
Daisy said: “We moved into this together and we have built a home here.
Chris added: “It’s been a bit of a fairytale.”
The couple will now be able to stay an extra month after requesting more time, meaning the property will have to be vacated by the end of December.
But their experience has made them worry about other tenants of the Royal Household who could be facing the same fate.
Christopher said: “Because we rent from the Royal Household our tenancy is not protected and they can evict us for no reason.
Daisy added: “It’s like a blind spot.
“One of the reasons it’s important that we’ve spoken about it is because we may not be the only people who are dealing with this.
“Things don’t change unless people speak up.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said in a statement the Royal Household "engages an external agency to lease a small number of residential properties at Hampton Court Mews”.
They added the Royal Household terminated tenancies ”very rarely and only in exceptional circumstances.”
