Kanye West is being sued by a contractor for more than $1 million over his Malibu home, adding another roadblock in his attempts to sell the mega-mansion.
The rapper, who now goes by Ye, listed the four-bedroom, beach-fronted house last year for $53 million, taking a huge hit after first buying it for $57.3 million two years ago.
But he has been blocked from selling it by the contractor, who claims Ye owes him more than six figures in unpaid fees.
Through his lawyers, Tony Saxon has filed a so-called mechanic's lien on the sale in order to claim the money he says he is owed. The lien, also known as a contractor's lien, is a hold or a guarantee of payment to contractors and ensures they are paid first in the case of a liquidation.
"If unpaid, it allows a foreclosure action, forcing the sale of the property in lieu of compensation," according to California law.
Along with missing payments, Saxon is suing for alleged disability discrimination, multiple labor code violations, unpaid wages and wrongful termination.
"We just want to make sure he has enough money to pay the more than $1 million he still owes our client before he goes completely broke," Saxon's attorney, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement per The Hollywood Reporter. "So in this case, if someone wants to buy Kanye's Malibu home, they'll have to deal with us first. That sale cannot happen without Tony being paid."
Ye put the Tadao Ando-designed house up for sale in December, but not before completely gutting the interiors. He has denied the claims in Saxon's lawsuit, per The Washington Post.
The sale is being managed by Selling Sunset star Jason Oppenheim, who tried to put a positive spin on the saga.
"What's missing are the interiors," Oppenheim told The Hollywood Reporter in December, explaining that the new owners would need to spend millions of additional dollars to rebuild the home's inside.
"It's priced to reflect the need for the interior finishes to be replaced. On the positive, it can be brought up to 2024 standards — it was built about 10 years ago."
Newsweek contacted Oppenheim and Ye's representatives by email for comment.
The roughly 4,000-square-foot house will need windows and doors, along with plumbing, electrical, HVAC and interior finishes.
It was built in 2013 by Wall Street tycoon Richard Sachs. It features Ando's trademark smooth concrete, and is constructed from around 1,200 tons of concrete, 200 tons of steel and 12 pylons driven more than 60 feet into the sand.
The three-story house has four bedrooms and giant window openings facing the water, with an extra 1,500 square feet of deck space.
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