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Ex-council flats bought at discount make a fortune for their owners
Ex-council properties acquired under Right to Buy are making their owners a fortune, with many now in the hands of private landlords and others changing hands for high prices in the London market.
As the Government prepares to extend Right to Buy to social housing tenants, a 700 sq ft two-bedroom ex-council flat in South Kensington has been put up for sale at £1.15m – the first time that a former council home has been valued at over £1m.
A council tenant in central London who purchased their home at a discounted £100,000 ten years ago will typically find it is now worth over £600,000.
A one-bedroom ex-council flat in the West End can now fetch £19,200 a year in rent, while a two-bedroom flat can command £28,800 – the attraction for tenants being that this is less than the rent for comparable properties that have always been in the private sector. However, tenants are likely to find ex-council homes that have been well and truly blinged up.
London agent E J Harris said 90% of the ex-council homes in its lettings portfolio have been interior-designed to high specifications.
Managing director Elizabeth Harris said: “These ex-council flats might be located in a local authority apartment block, but step inside and most of the interiors are extremely luxurious and equivalent to anything in the private sector luxury homes market.
“The kitchens are designer and state-of-the-art, the living rooms fitted with LED televisions, the bathrooms beautifully finished and the bedrooms glamorous.
“The owners want to attract affluent private tenants so they ensure that the interiors are extremely stylish and luxurious.”
Under government plans to be confirmed in today’s Queen’s Speech, some 1.3m housing association tenants will be able to buy their homes at discounts, capped at just over £102,700 in London and £77,000 for the rest of England.
In London’s poshest areas, there is a high proportion of social housing: in Mayfair it accounts for 22% of housing stock.
Peter Wetherell, of Mayfair agent Wetherell, said: “When it comes to Mayfair and the wider West End, I don’t think there is any stigma.
“Mayfair is always a good address, regardless of whether it is a private sector, ex-council or shared ownership property.
“In a short time, we will see the emergence of the multi-million pound ex-council property.”
Official overall figures for Right to Buy show that 26,184 ex-council homes have been bought at a discount since 2012. Just 2,712 have been replaced.
