A local authority has slapped orders on 19 tiny bedsit flats to prevent them from being rented out.
A specialist agency had been handling the rentals.
Islington Council said it had uncovered the three-square metre bedsits in a building that was a former hostel. It was apparently converted without planning permission four years ago.
The council said the flats, above a McDonald’s in Holloway Road, were well below its minimum size standards.
Some also have showers and toilets inside the single room.
Council officers made the prohibition orders after the tiny flats were discovered as part of a survey of the quality of private rental sector homes in parts of Islington.
The survey is looking at the conditions to see if a new licensing scheme is needed.
The action comes after Islington Council made six prohibition notices in June on tiny flats in Kember Street after one was advertised for rental.
The council’s decision to ban this flat from being rented received international media coverage.
Further investigations are being carried out at the building in Holloway Road, including a probe into apparent breaches of fire safety regulations.
Alongside the prohibition orders issued by the council’s environmental health team, the council has also issued planning contravention notices.
Cllr James Murray, Islington Council’s executive member for housing and development, said: “These shoebox flats are not fit for tenants – they are well below our minimum size standards.
“There’s a housing crisis in London and so a lot of people are desperate to find anywhere to live. But we have to draw a line and stop people being exploited, so we’ve stopped these flats being rented out again.”
Some of the tenants currently in the Holloway Road flats were apparently housed through a homeless charity.
The Guardian has named the charity as Fresh Start Housing, and the landlord as Andrew Panayi.
The same landlord hit the headlines earlier this year as the owner of the tiny flat in Kember Street, Islington, which was advertised for over £700 per month on Rightmove, pictured.
The Guardian also said that Panayi had sub-let the Holloway Road properties to Investing Solutions Ltd, which describes itself as a rent guarantee company. It had been charging £255 a week.
On its website, Investing Solutions says it works “every day with dozens of London real estate agents”.
Cllr Murray added: “Everyone deserves a decent place to live and desperate people should not be crammed into tiny flats.”
*Winkworth currently have a tiny home for sale, also in Islington. It has a gross internal area of 188 sq ft – and a price tag of £275,000.
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/34422498#Wf0jRVZDkY7pr1bM.97
* However, a report by Strutt & Parker suggests micro mansions could be a solution to Britain’s housing crisis in future by providing cheap and tiny living spaces in cities.
The report, called Housing Futures, says that micro mansions are not oddities such as converted broom cupboards, but are purpose-designed homes.
“This is not something yet seen on any scale in the UK, but Japan and the US have led the charge,” says the report.
“A micro home is 100-250 sq ft compared to a typical small two-bedroom flat of 750 sq ft.”
A micro mansion typically has underfloor heating, pull-down beds, steps that convert into chairs and sofas, and kitchen worktops that slide away when not in use.
The report also says that 47% of households live in homes that are too big for them. It says that “tumbleweeders” have two or more bedrooms than required, and that their impact on the private housing market is not being discussed.
The report does not suggest that “tumbleweeders” would like to try micro living, but does say that micro flats would attract those who simply need somewhere to sleep.
“As our cities accelerate their pull on the global workforce, they will be increasingly popular,” says the report.
Hmmm. Take a look here:
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