IT’S the place he calls home – and has done for almost half a century.

But piano teacher David Miles says he could be forced out after seeing his monthly rent almost doubled – from £390 to £750.

Mr Miles lives on land once owned by Col Henry Rooke, who left his house and gardens to the people of Lymington in 1925.

His decision resulted in the creation of a charity run by Lymington Town Council, which has been told by the Charity Commission to charge Mr Miles what it describes as a “market-related” rent.

Now the 61-year-old has been ordered to pay an extra £360 a month in a move branded “cruel” by his next door neighbour.

Mr Miles, who has lived in the cottage at Rookes Lane, Lymington, since he was 17, said the huge rent rise had affected his health.

He added: “It was such a shock. It’s a good job I’ve got a strong heart – a 75-year-old could have keeled over.”

Mr Miles, who is self-employed, has taken legal advice and has also sought help from the housing charity Shelter.

“I can’t afford the new rent and will have to find somewhere in the private rented sector,” he said.

“I went to see the district council but they said the only thing I’d get would be a one-bedroom bungalow – and there’s a five-year wait.”

The cottage is owned by The Charity of Henry Douglas Rooke, which is administered by the town council.

Mr Miles, whose parents moved there 44 years ago, has lived alone since his mother died in 2012.

“It’s a nice place to live and the house is full of memories. I’ll be heartbroken if I have to leave,” he said.

His neighbour, David Courtenage, 71, added: “What they’re doing to Dave is cruel. He was beside himself.”

But town clerk Steve Cridland defended the council, claiming it had been left with no option.

He said: “We’ve been charging Mr Miles a monthly rent of £390 which, according to our valuer, is a fair rent. But we’ve been forced to listen to the Charity Commission, which says he should pay a market rent.

“If we don’t comply the Commission could say we’re not being proper trustees of the charity and take the trusteeship away |from us.”

Mr Cridland said Mr Miles could oppose the rent increase, due to come into force next month.

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “The Charity Commission advised the charity trustee that, if it is satisfied the cottage’s tenants do not have protected tenancy status, the trustee would have a duty to seek a market value rent on a property.

“This is consistent with s.119 of the Charities Act 2011 which states the trustee must decide it is satisfied, having considered a surveyor’s report, that the terms on which the disposition is proposed to be made is the best that can reasonably be obtained for the charity.