A tiny west London flat that is partially below ground level and has just one window is up for sale to cash buyers only.
The semi-subterranean studio, located just a few minutes' walk from Ealing Broadway station, is on the market for £160,000.
This is way below the £780,000 average sold price for its street, but it doesn't take long to see why.
At just 25.1m², the property is almost a third smaller than the minimum nationally described space standard for new dwellings.
Ivanka Koleda, sales negotiator at estate agent Hunters, says the property would be hard to secure a mortgage against due to its tiny size. However, as an existing residence, it can accomodate two adults and not fall foul of the government’s statutory overcrowding rules.
The flat is currently rented out and has attracted keen interest from buy-to-let investors, according to the agent.
"It is in a good location, just five minutes' walk from the Tube, it needs renovation but could then achieve rent of up to £1,300 per month," says Koleda. "It would suit a single young professional."
The flat sits at the bottom of a town house on Castlebar Road. Accessed by a set of stairs that drop down from street level, it shares the lower ground floor with three other apartments.
Situated at the back of the property, it only has light from one large window, and the current occupant has a bed next to two armchairs in the multi-purpose living space. At just 3.5m wide, the main room has little storage space and items of clothing can be seen hanging from a shelf.
A tiny corner kitchen is separated from the main room by a pair of kitchen cupboards described as a “breakfast bar”. A separate shower and toilet are shown on the floorplan.
As well as being offered on the open market, the studio has been listed for auction with a guide price that suggests the total needed to secure it, including fees, could be above £180,000. No bids had been received at the time of writing.
The property, offered leasehold with 110 years remaining, last sold for the same price it is asking now, £160,000 in 2008, according to Rightmove. A flat further along Castlebar Road sold for £1.25m last year.
A spokesperson for the London Renters Union said: "While many London renters have no option but to live in cramped conditions, landlords and developers are generating big profits from converting houses into several tiny flats.
"It's clear that a housing system run purely for profit is not able to provide the decent and affordable homes everyone deserves. We need the government to invest in social housing and to bring rents under control so that there is less of an incentive for landlords to pursue these kinds of developments."
