When Ronan and his wife lived as property guardians in Walthamstow, east London, owning a place of their own seemed out of their reach. But in 2018, an opportunity presented itself: a development offering compact one-bedroom flats at a discounted price to people living in the local community.
The couple had no plans to start a family and the flat seemed suited to their lifestyle and budget. Then plans changed, as they often do, and they gave birth to a baby boy four years after moving in. Overnight, the bedroom doubled as a nursery and the open-plan living space functioned as a kitchen, dining room, living room and playroom. For lack of space, the pram was parked outside in the communal corridor. Soon, complaints landed in their inbox from the building management company stating that it posed a fire risk.
