From The Sunday Times
April 4, 2010
Westminster shabby
MPs’ rental expenses are to be capped at £1,450 per month. Will that get them anything bigger than a duck house?
(Edelman)
Victoria: £1,265 per month (chestertonhumberts.com)
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Helen Davies
For most MPs, the word “studio” has hitherto been associated with a place in which to give interviews, rather than somewhere to live. That could be about to change. New rules announced last week mean that when parliament convenes after the election, its members will enjoy considerably less generous arrangements for their second homes than their predecessors. Those whose seats are at least 20 miles or an hour’s travel from Westminster will only be able to claim rent of up to £1,450 a month, or about £335 per week. Forget floating duck islands and moats, cleaners and gardeners — that studio flat may be beckoning.
What can you rent within easy reach of Westminster on that kind of budget? Georgina Clarke, lettings director at the Pimlico office of Jackson-Stops & Staff, who has dealt with many MPs, diplomats and civil servants looking for a pied-à-terre, says the popular choices for politicians are the secure portered blocks of Marsham Street (site of the Home Office), the beautiful red-brick Victorian blocks of the Millbank estate, Smith Square (home to Conservative HQ) and Dolphin Square.
Clarke has a one-bedroom flat within walking distance of the Chamber for £350 per week. It’s a little over budget, but reasonable, considering what may happen to the market in Pimlico and Westminster after the election. “There is a shortage of stock right now, which might make it difficult to get something at these budgets,” she says. “Post-election, there will be more competition for rental properties, which could push up prices. I assume MPs will be at liberty to top up their budgets with private funds.”
David Maxwell, a lettings director with Daniel Cobb, a Lambeth estate agency, has not seen any increase in rental inquiries from MPs, but says the area is short of available properties, resulting in higher than normal rental prices. “In central Kennington, £300 to £350 per week will get a tenant a smart, stylish, one-bedroom flat in a gated development,” he says.
Any MP who wants a second bedroom, perhaps for use as an office, or to house a son or daughter working as their researcher, will probably have to go out to Zone 2. Atkinson McLeod (020 8772 6106, atkinsonmcleod.com) has a part-furnished two-bedroom flat in a converted Victorian terrace in the heart of Clapham, southwest London, for £300 per week. A travelcard covering Westminster will cost £99.10 a month (not reimbursed by the taxpayer).
Another option could be flat-sharing. “Taxpayers could save a fortune, and MPs would be forced to live in the real world for a change,” says Jonathan Moore, director of easyroommate.co.uk. “The thought of two politicians fighting for fridge space would bring a smile to faces across London as the rest of us get ready for work and think about paying our own bills.”
Moore has a double room with an ensuite bathroom and use of a shared kitchen on Kensington High Street for £1,083 per month — although this may not appeal to MPs, as they would not be able to keep the £367 change.
They might prefer to try one of the various specialist websites that cater for part-time renters. Judy Niner, who in 2004 set up www.mondaytofriday.com, a website that matches landlords with fractional renters, has noticed a 300% increase in the number of lodgers looking for accommodation in the past 12 months. The arrangement works well both for the tenant, who has somewhere homely to stay during the working week, and the landlord, who gets the run of the house at the weekend.
MPs with a conscience — or who want to be seen to be doing the right thing — could do worse than rent a bolt hole on the Walcot estate, a leafy oasis of 19th-century terraces and squares just a 10-minute walk south of the river. Cluttons (020 7407 3669, cluttons.com) is letting two townhouses there at £550 per week, so they would have to top up the allowance out of their own pocket — but the money received in rent is given back to those in the local community who are most in need. Last year, the Walcot Foundation awarded 485 grants totalling £1.97m.
Finally, for any prospective MPs who are seeking to gain both election and some credit with the public, I hear John Lewis does a nice line in sofa beds. Just remember to keep the receipt.
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/rental_market/article7086142.ece
What can you rent within easy reach of Westminster on that kind of budget? Georgina Clarke, lettings director at the Pimlico office of Jackson-Stops & Staff, who has dealt with many MPs, diplomats and civil servants looking for a pied-à-terre, says the popular choices for politicians are the secure portered blocks of Marsham Street (site of the Home Office), the beautiful red-brick Victorian blocks of the Millbank estate, Smith Square (home to Conservative HQ) and Dolphin Square.
Clarke has a one-bedroom flat within walking distance of the Chamber for £350 per week. It’s a little over budget, but reasonable, considering what may happen to the market in Pimlico and Westminster after the election. “There is a shortage of stock right now, which might make it difficult to get something at these budgets,” she says. “Post-election, there will be more competition for rental properties, which could push up prices. I assume MPs will be at liberty to top up their budgets with private funds.”
David Maxwell, a lettings director with Daniel Cobb, a Lambeth estate agency, has not seen any increase in rental inquiries from MPs, but says the area is short of available properties, resulting in higher than normal rental prices. “In central Kennington, £300 to £350 per week will get a tenant a smart, stylish, one-bedroom flat in a gated development,” he says.
Any MP who wants a second bedroom, perhaps for use as an office, or to house a son or daughter working as their researcher, will probably have to go out to Zone 2. Atkinson McLeod (020 8772 6106, atkinsonmcleod.com) has a part-furnished two-bedroom flat in a converted Victorian terrace in the heart of Clapham, southwest London, for £300 per week. A travelcard covering Westminster will cost £99.10 a month (not reimbursed by the taxpayer).
Another option could be flat-sharing. “Taxpayers could save a fortune, and MPs would be forced to live in the real world for a change,” says Jonathan Moore, director of easyroommate.co.uk. “The thought of two politicians fighting for fridge space would bring a smile to faces across London as the rest of us get ready for work and think about paying our own bills.”
Moore has a double room with an ensuite bathroom and use of a shared kitchen on Kensington High Street for £1,083 per month — although this may not appeal to MPs, as they would not be able to keep the £367 change.
They might prefer to try one of the various specialist websites that cater for part-time renters. Judy Niner, who in 2004 set up www.mondaytofriday.com, a website that matches landlords with fractional renters, has noticed a 300% increase in the number of lodgers looking for accommodation in the past 12 months. The arrangement works well both for the tenant, who has somewhere homely to stay during the working week, and the landlord, who gets the run of the house at the weekend.
MPs with a conscience — or who want to be seen to be doing the right thing — could do worse than rent a bolt hole on the Walcot estate, a leafy oasis of 19th-century terraces and squares just a 10-minute walk south of the river. Cluttons (020 7407 3669, cluttons.com) is letting two townhouses there at £550 per week, so they would have to top up the allowance out of their own pocket — but the money received in rent is given back to those in the local community who are most in need. Last year, the Walcot Foundation awarded 485 grants totalling £1.97m.
Finally, for any prospective MPs who are seeking to gain both election and some credit with the public, I hear John Lewis does a nice line in sofa beds. Just remember to keep the receipt.
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/rental_market/article7086142.ece
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