Two Saudi royals are holding up the sale of their Beverly Hills mansion by fighting over stained carpets and home repairs

Saudi royalty have indisputably lavish lifestyles—think multimillion-dollar superyachts and Leonardo da Vinci paintings.

But apparently, even some of the wealthiest people in the world can end up haggling over stained carpets and repair expenses—especially if they’re divorced.

Princess Fahdah Husain Abdulrahman Al-Athel and her ex-husband, Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, still own a 2.3-acre property together inside a gated Beverly Hills community, despite splitting several years ago.

They plan to sell it, but a lawyer for the princess says that Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is stalling on making repairs at the property, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, and refusing to pay for it.

She’s now asking a Delaware judge to order the prince to sign a contract to get the work done.

It’s unclear how much the repairs will cost.

The prince’s lawyer told Bloomberg that if the court decides in his ex-wife’s favor, he “will oppose the motion,” arguing that he is concerned the contractor will go over budget.

The couple got married in 2001 and bought the property as a getaway home in 2011 for $16.8 million through a Delaware-based company. It has two separate mansions with a combined total of 18 bedrooms and 28 bathrooms. The couple divorced in 2016.

One mansion is reportedly in a state of disrepair to the point that the owners were fined and threatened with foreclosure by the homeowners association at the gated community, one of the princess’s attorneys told the Associated Press in 2020.

The pair had reached a settlement in February over who should pay for the renovations, the details of which were kept confidential. But now, the princess’s lawyers are arguing that the prince isn’t acting on the long-pending repairs, increasing the financial strain on the princess.

“The landscaping is mostly dead, the pool is empty, and the water lines emptied,” lawyers for the princess wrote in court filings, Bloomberg reported. “Much of the carpeting throughout the property was stained, damaged, or generally unusable.”

The prince claimed that his ex-wife did not maintain the property or pay taxes on it in the court filings. He had also asked that a $41 million loan undertaken for the renovations be returned to him, Bloomberg reported in February.

(Saudi royals battle over dilapidated Beverly Hills mansions)

A couple of divorced Saudi royals at loggerheads over a dual-mansion estate in Beverly Hills have renewed their fight over who will replace the ruined carpets to sell the property.

(76 Beverly Park Lane in Beverly Park (Getty, Hilton & Hyland)

The tooth-and-claw battle over the cost of renovations comes nine months after Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his ex-wife, Princess Fahdah Husain Abdulrahman Al-Athel, had agreed to a legal settlement, Bloomberg reported.

A lawyer for the princess accused the prince of holding up repairs at two manor houses within the 2.3-acre property at 76 Beverly Park Lane in Beverly Park, court records show.

She wants a judge to order the prince to sign off on a contractor to perform the work.

“It is clear the source of the delay is Prince Faisal, who is refusing to approve or fund the repairs deemed necessary,” according to an unsealed Oct. 24 filing in Delaware Chancery Court. A Delaware holding company legally owns the compound.

Jason Jowers, a lawyer for the prince, said his client rejects his ex-wife’s allegations “and will oppose the motion” to force him to honor a settlement the pair worked out earlier about upkeep of the home.

The couple, who were married in 2001, paid $16.8 million a decade later for the 29,000-square-foot estate, which includes two Italian villa-style mansions, with 18 bedrooms and 28 baths, plus a large pool and a cabana. Neighbors include actor Mark Wahlberg, Platinum Equity fund CEO Tom Gores and retired baseball player Barry Bonds.

Each mansion opens with a grand two-story foyer, which flows into arched hallways leading to living spaces. The royal couple divorced in 2016.

The prince then accused his former wife of failing to maintain the property and pay its taxes. He also demanded the return of a $41 million loan earmarked for renovations.

The couple also clashed over who had the right to sell the mansions, whose condition has now fallen into such disrepair they aren’t salable, according to court filings.

“The landscaping is mostly dead, the pool is empty and the water lines emptied,” the princess’ attorney said in filings. “Much of the carpeting throughout the property was stained, damaged or generally unusable.”

A Delaware judge in February approved the settlement of a three-year lawsuit between the warring royals, but allowed lawyers to file court documents with the cost estimates for the repairs blacked out.

While the princess pushes to renovate the estate so it can be sold, the prince is worried the contractor tapped by real-estate agents will “exceed substantially” the agreed-upon budget for repairs.

The princess’ attorneys claim the prince is holding up repairs to drain her bank account.

“The prince has breached the terms of the settlement agreement and is engaged in a pattern of delays — the purpose being to frustrate the sale process and deplete the princess’s financial resources,” her attorneys contend.

Ref: Two Saudi royals are holding up the sale of their Beverly Hills mansion by fighting over stained carpets and home repairs (therealdeal, finance.yahoo, forbes)