A single-fronted house squeezed into a narrow gap site on an east London street has gone on the market with its own freehold for the first time.
The skinny house in Newham measures just eight foot eight inches across at its narrowest point, having been built on a plot once holding its neighbour's garage.
Now a three-storey, two-bedroom house, the property is up for sale with a guide price of £400,000.
Bought leasehold for £261,000 back in 2016, the Charlemont Road site was then subject to an investigation to find its freeholder.
A tribunal last November ruled that the freehold could be acquired by the leasholder for less than £2,500 as the landlord was deemed to be 'missing'.
As a result, the house, which has two bedrooms stacked on top of each other above a long living, dining and kitchen space, is on the market as a freehold property.
The white-painted, period-style house is set behind a grey picket fence, with a matching dove grey front door.
The floorplan widens slightly as it extends behind its narrow facade, forming a long, trapezium shape. The listing images show a modern interior wiht patio doors on the ground floor opening on to a back garden.
Steep wooden stairs lead to the first floor, which contains a bedroom dominated by its bed, a landing filled with a wardrobe, and a small bathroom. The second floor has a slightly bigger bathroom and a similar-sized bedroom.
It’s not narrow, it’s long
Maria Qureshi, senior sales negotiator at agent Bairstow Eves, said the house was deceptively roomy and measured at least three metres wide at all points.
“It is not so much narrow as long,” she said. “It used to be a side plot but now has its own freehold.”
The layout of the unusual property meant both bedrooms were effectively en suite, potentially making it an attractive and affordable houseshare, Qureshi added.
“We expect interest from buy-to-let investors although we are also seeing enquiries from couples who are budgeting for a flat but see a house is in their price range.”
Located close to Gooseley Playing Fields and the A13, the skinny residence is roughly halfway between East Ham Tube stop and Beckton DLR station.
The agency is marketing two-bed new-build apartments nearby for £425,000, and many people were viewing the three-storey house alongside these, she said.
A narrow footprint does not necessarily preclude a high sale price. A three metre-wide converted coach house in Hackney went on the market for £1.3 million last year, while a towering glass-fronted house in Clerkenwell was up for sale for £2 million, despite measuring just nine feet across.
