Tiny house with the big price tag
DETACHED HOUSE’
HOUSEHUNTERS looking for somewhere a bit different to live need look no further than a quirky little property in Leicester dubbed “the UK’s smallest detached house”.
The diminutive but cosy-looking Rose Cottage is tucked away in a side street in one of the city’s leafiest neighbourhoods.
The two-bedroom detached home in Goldhill Road, Knighton, is just 13ft wide and 26ft tall, covering a total of only 338 square feet over its two floors.
The characterful cottage, however, is on the market for a whopping £275,000, writes our sister paper the Birmingham Mail.
About the width of a tennis court, it was built in 1900 and was sold at auction last year after its elderly resident died. The property fetched £155,000 – less than half the average of £379,000 for a detached UK home – when it went under the hammer in September 2019.
A property developer snapped up the premises in one of the most desirable areas of Leicester where house prices average over £300,000, before renovating the tiny house.
It is now back on the market after being “thoughtfully modernised throughout” – with the front lounge extended and a patio laid in the back garden.
The 120-year-old two-bed house also has a new roof and central heating system along with a newly-fitted modern kitchen.
It is marketed as being in high demand because it’s near schools, parks and boutique shops and only two miles from the city centre.
It features a living room (4.46m x 3.38m), kitchen (2.24m x 1.84m), dining room (3.38m x 3.65m), family bathroom and an enclosed rear garden.
Richard Chesterton, senior sales valuer at estate agents Newton Fallowell, said the unique home is perfect for a first-time buyer or as an investment opportunity.
He said: “This one-off home was built on its own like this. It’s one of the rarest properties you will see. You don’t get them like that anymore.
“It is a modern, yet quirky and niche property. It’s pretty much been taken back to a shell and started all over again. It required a thoughtful touch to maintain the character features while providing a contemporary feel.
“They have extended ever so slightly the front room. That is the only structural alteration which is all internal.
“We believe it’s one of the narrowest detached houses in Britain, offering the opportunity to acquire a wonderful home within a desirable location.
“Inside it feels like a two-bed terraced property, a typical two up two down. But when you step back onto the road it surprises everybody there is nothing either side.
“It’s the similar size as a terrace but it’s fully detached and that’s the way it’s been for over a hundred years.”
Photographs show how the narrow house stands alone on the residential street and features just one upstairs window looking out on to the street.
Richard said their private client, not from Leicester, bought the quirky house at auction in September last year.
“We anticipate a strong level of interest due to the unique nature and popular location and would advise any potential purchasers to view what is a superbly presented detached home.”
Senior valuer Carl Finch, of SDL auctions, said: “The house is unlike anything I have come across before. You couldn’t get a detached house much more narrow.”
The house is 21 sq ft smaller than a property in Sheffield which was billed as Britain’s smallest detached house in 2014.