A landlord says she was left facing a bill of thousands of pounds and with a property painted in light blue political colours after a tenancy dispute with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.

Reform UK, which described the situation as “regrettable”, has now paid landlord Tamsin May “just over £4,000” according to reports in the mainstream media. 

May is reported to have expected to agree a five-year lease but instead the party left her property in Clacton, Essex, in August. She claimed rubbish was left behind and the keys were not returned.

George Riley Estates Ltd, a Clacton-founded company, is said to have moved the political party into its office space in June, on a licence which specified the tenant would keep the premises in a “clean and tidy condition”, “not commit any waste” and make “no alterations to the fabric”.

However, May is quoted as saying that when she took possession of the property inn mid-August she found “they painted the door and bar in ‘Reform blue’ and put stud walls and a door in. We also had to pay for the locks to be changed and call in removal people to clear all of their rubbish and mess, which cost us about £500. I’ve even paid for their electricity bill, which I am not happy about, and we had to pay empty business rates of £600 after they left.”