Noel and Liam Gallagher's Dad could be left homeless after becoming victim to alleged 'fraud'
Noel and Liam Gallagher's estranged dad could be made homeless after losing the Oasis stars' childhood house in Manchester as the victim of an alleged property 'fraud'.Tommy Gallagher has been embroiled in a bitter legal dispute over the fate of his semi-detached home in Burnage, where the brothers grew up.Despite a judge ruling that on the balance of probabilities, the 77-year-old has been the victim of 'fraud', the sale of the Ashburn Avenue property has been allowed to stand.
Mr Gallagher, who separated from Noel and Liam's mum Peggy when they were children, is planning to appeal the decision, but says he is resigned to losing the three-bed house he's lived in since 1972.
Despite being estranged from his rock star sons for a number of decades, he says wants to make them aware of his predicament.
Mr Gallagher faced having the house repossessed when his mortgage deal expired, leaving him with £27,000 outstanding - and no way to pay it.
He launched civil proceedings after selling his home in 2017. The case has been heard in the first-tier tribunal property chamber.
Mr Gallagher claimed in court that Thomas Keenan, said to be a childhood friend of Noel's, suggested his brother Ricky Keenan might be able to buy his house for him.As part of the deal, Mr Gallagher claimed it was agreed he could live in the property rent-free for the rest of his life.But it is claimed he actually signed papers agreeing to pay £650-a-month in rent - which he denied.
The home was sold in January 2017 and is now owned by Hanna Property Company Ltd.
In his findings, Judge Colin Green said the house was sold as part of an 'elaborate scheme', in which Ricky Keenan 'represented' that Hanna Property was his company and assured Mr Gallagher he could live there rent-free and would be paid further sums of money over the following year.In fact, Mr Keenan wasn't connected to Hanna and shared a £56,000 'finder's fee' following the sale.The judge's ruling says Ricky Keenan 'misrepresented matters' to Hanna by saying he and another man were 'entitled to £56,000 of the £86,000 agreed for the sale, by way of an agency fee or commission and discharge of an unspecified debt said to be due from Mr Gallagher to Ricky'.The judge's ruling read:
The judge adds in the ruling:
The court heard Mr Gallagher believed the house might have 'possible celebrity value' due to the brothers having been 'born and raised' there.He is still living in the home and doesn't know when he might be evicted.Mr Gallagher, a former builder and pub DJ, is considering moving back to his childhood home in the village of Duleek, in County Meath in Ireland, but says coronavirus restrictions make that difficult.In the meantime, he says he's living under a cloud of uncertainty.He said: