Landlord gripes he can’t sell his home — because Adele said it’s haunted

Hello from the other side.

A sprawling $7.4 million countryside estate in West Sussex, England has been languishing on the market for more than a decade, and the owner says it’s all thanks to one famous former resident: Adele.

The Grammy-winning singer lived in the luxurious mansion for just six months in 2012, but her comments about the property being “haunted” have reportedly torpedoed any chance of selling it.

The 10-bedroom Lock House — a converted convent with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a tennis court and a helicopter pad — he thinks should be an easy sell.

But owner Nicholas Sutton claims Adele’s comments have been a major stumbling block.

In an interview with CBS in 2012, Adele described the historic property as “a bit of a cliché,” adding, “This bit’s all quite scary, really.”

At the time, it was reported she even had her bodyguard move in because the house “gives me the creeps.”

Sutton, who bought the Edwardian estate in 2003 and invested heavily in renovations, said the singer’s remarks scared off prospective buyers.

“Unfortunately, during an interview on CBS, Adele remarked that she believed the house to be haunted. This comment negatively impacted future marketing efforts and continues to affect the property’s reputation to this day,” he said in a planning application presented to Horsham District Council and obtained by The Guardian.

Despite high-end marketing campaigns featuring professional photography and listings with top agents like Savills, Sutton said he has yet to find a buyer.

The only offer he received, in August 2020, fell apart after the prospective buyer discovered Adele’s haunted house claims.

“The property has been extensively market-tested for over a decade, yet it has consistently failed to attract buyers,” Sutton added.

The mansion, which occupies nearly 20,000 square feet and is set on 32 acres of pristine grounds, retains a distinct institutional look from its days as a convent in the 1970s.

Sutton transformed the nuns’ chapel into a family kitchen and added a swimming pool, but he says the property’s upkeep and unique character have limited its appeal.

Even attempts to rent the home have been unsuccessful.

Sutton noted, “The first tenant, Adele, stayed for six months and blighted the property saying it is haunted.”

Now, after 14 years of trying to sell the estate, Sutton is shifting gears.

He’s seeking permission from Horsham District Council to divide the mansion into three houses and convert the garage and flat into a cottage.

“This proposal provides the optimum viable use of Lock House, preserving its historical significance while delivering much-needed housing,” he stated in his planning application.

This isn’t the first time Sutton has tried to redevelop the property. An earlier plan to create five flats was rejected by the council, but he remains hopeful this latest bid will be approved.