Motorist buys London balcony for £35,000 to get hold of Kensington parking permit

The property agent said it was a sign of the times with the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer

A motorist bought a Kensington terrace for £35,000 to use its parking space (Google)

A self-contained terrace in west London was sold for tens of thousands of pounds so the buyer could use it for its parking space.

The 128 sq ft property in Stanhope Gardens, South Kensington, was listed for £50,000 with an estate agent in July this year.

It was sold for £35,000 with the new high net-worth owner agreeing to contribute £1,300 for the annual service charge so he could park his car.

Agent Glenn Jacobs, who oversaw the sale, said it made perfect sense for the new owner but it was a sign of the times with the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.

“It made perfect sense to spend that money to save yourself the price on another property in the area without the parking space,” property agent Glenn Jacobs told The Independent.

The 128 sq ft property in Stanhope Gardens (street pictured) was sold for £35,000 (Google)

“It was a good idea. They have pieced together a complex puzzle and sourced a different property along with parking nearby.

But Mr Jacobs warned the sale had struck a chord with the majority of renters across London. “A lot of people can’t even afford rent anymore,” he said.

“So when someone sees they can’t afford a terrace or a balcony anymore, it doesn’t help. It’s a sign of the times. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer.”

It comes as the average rent increase in London soared by 12.1 per cent compared to last year with an average cost of £2,627 a month, figures show.

This was above the England average and its highest annual rate since London records began in January 2006, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Mr Jacobs said the sale sparked a lot of people’s imaginations, with clients asking if they could make money by selling off parts of their properties.

“After the sale, we had a couple of people contacting us asking if they could separate parts of their gardens off to sell with a parking space,” he said.

He added that one interested buyer in China had wanted to use the terrace as an art space, offering £50,000. It was put back on the market in November and attracted 191 inquiries.