A man incorrectly listed as the owner of a second house says the error has cost him "a fortune" in legal fees and missed business opportunities.

A council house in Leicester was mistakenly registered to Abdul Kadva when he legitimately bought the council house next door in 2006.

He was unaware of the error until 2013 when he tried to re-mortgage his home to expand his printing firm.

Five years on, the city council said it was still trying to resolve the mix-up.

Mr Kadva bought his council house in Leicester through a Right to Buy scheme, but unbeknown to him and the council an error meant he was also listed on the Land Registry as the owner of the house next door to him.

He had planned to remortgage his home to buy a business unit priced at £150,000 in 2013, but because of the registration mix-up he was turned down and the business unit was now priced at £500,000, he said.

'Paying the price'
Leicester City Council said Mr Kadva had not paid for the house in question, which had been rented out as a council property and Mr Kadva was not entitled to sell it.

Mr Kadva, 46, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had been engaged in a legal dispute with Leicester City Council ever since to get the property correctly registered in the council's name.

He said: "It has cost me a fortune in legal fees and I'm still the owner of both homes.

"None of it is my fault and I'm the one paying the price, financially and in other ways too."

He added: "This has cost me investment opportunities and the chance to expand my business too."

Leicester City Council said the error was not picked up by either party's solicitors or the Land Registry.

Apologising for the delays and "inconvenience", a council spokesman said: "Legal papers have been drafted and we're making every effort to resolve the matter as quickly as possible."

Once it has been settled, the local authority has agreed to refund Mr Kadva with some of the legal costs.