Royal offering for new buy-to-let scheme

08-Apr-2005

London's West End could soon become a rental hotspot for aspiring homeowners finding prices in the capital a bit too expensive.

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The Times has revealed that the Queen, who owns around £520 million worth of residential property across the UK, is considering leasing a large chunk of that property currently in London's West End.

That would give an alternative opportunity for many aspiring first time buyers in London, who could decide to rent property from the Crown Estate as an alternative to buying their own home.

It is thought that renting out the property would be attractive to aspiring first time buyers looking to live in central London, especially given the current lack of affordable housing in the capital.

An increase in affordable homes for first time buyers and key workers in London has been promised by the government, but will take a number of years to implement and until then aspiring homeowners may find renting from the Crown an attractive alternative.

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It is understood that a £500 million refurbishment programme is currently underway on Regent Street to transform commercial buildings back into residences.

Giles French, of the Crown Estate, explains: "A lot of the blocks are commercial, but because of the local council's desire to have more people living in the centre of town, we have put residential dwellings back into some of the developments."

Five new-build flats were let out in January on Princes Street, at the top of Regent Street, with many more due to hit the market.

As the demand for rental property grows, due to the lack of opportunities for first time buyers to get a foot on the ladder, property owners are injecting more vision into their conversions, so as to make the West End an exciting and impressive place to live.

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