£1,000,000 ex-council flat sold in Chelsea

A flat on Kings Road, Chelsea, has become the first ex-council flat to sell for near £1 million. The flat, which has three bedrooms as well as a communal courtyard, was bought by its former owners under the “Right to Buy” scheme in 1989 for the grand total of £48,000 (equivalent to around £110,000 in today’s prices), but has recently sold for £999,950.

Under the scheme, introduced by former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1980, tenants who have rented a property from their local authority for a number of years (amongst other requirements) can buy their property from the authority at a discounted rate. New homeowners in many cases still remain liable for service charges should they be in a block of flats. The scheme is intended to help people make their first steps onto the property ladder.

Under legislation, local authorities are also required to replace every property sold under a “like-for-like” basis, therefore ensuring that there isn’t a reduction in council houses over time.

The former resident, who stands to make a near £950,000 profit on the sale, has previously lived in the property since renting it from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea since the 1970s. The resident, June Woodward, 61, who works as an administrator spoke to The Sun on Sunday about her recent property windfall: “The increase is incredible. Right to buy was a great way of getting on the property ladder and it is leaving the family with £1million.”

The property, which has increased in value by around 10 times in real terms, is one of many indicators of how the London property market has behaved in recent months. A recent study by estate agents JLL have predicted a 30% growth in prices by 2019 for the capital, with prices already having increased by 50% since 2008.

Just over a mile away from the property is the world’s most expensive flat, which sold for £140 million last year.