A BIZARRE feature spotted in a studio flat, formerly a police station, shocked viewers.
The £750-a-month property raised eyebrows when it hit the market after Dudley Police station was renovated into modern apartments.
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Potential renters were gobsmacked when they saw a “holding cell” in the re-furbished flat.
Estate agents Taylors described it as a “fantastic and unusual opportunity” in their listing.
Aside from the spine-tingly feature, the studio apartment comes with a three piece white shower room, a living area, bedroom space and intercom system.
The modern kitchen is furnished with grey cabinetry and a stylish, black marble-effect backsplash.
It matches the grey wooden-style flooring and white walls – a far cry from the former police station.
Taylors listed the flat with a description which read: “A fantastic and unusual opportunity to make this ground floor and spacious studio apartment yours just having had a full refurb the property features a Holding Cell in the studio which is large enough for a living / dining and bedroom area.
“The property also has an open plan modern style kitchen, three piece white shower room suite and benefits from having a intercom system with secure entry.
“Please note the property is offered on a unfurnished basis.”
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People were quick to share creative ideas on how to make use of the former cell.
“Obsessed that the old Dudley police station has been converted to studio flats, and for one of the advertised lettings they’ve kept the holding cell as a ‘feature'”, wrote one.
Another suggested: “I would make a cute home office space, I’d put trailing/climbing plants in it.”
Meanwhile someone else said: “If you added more bars this could be the start of a nice little aviary for a large bird or two.”
‘HILARIOUS’
Others thought it was “hilarious and awesome”.
“I guess if anyone ever breaks in, it’s available after you tackle them and call the police, just toss on a brinks lock & you’re good to go until they arrive. A sally port of sorts,” they joked.
Another jibed: “Perfect for when that family member you do exactly get along with decides to stay the night.”
The original police station was opened at the peak of World War Two.
I transformed my bland newbuild toilet for less than £100 using B&Q items… perfect kit covered up ugly feature
A fire crew and ambulance service all operated out of the same building.
It was shutdown in 2017 and given the green light to be converted into flats by 2021.
It comes as plenty of bizarre flats hit the property market up and down the country.
A property available to rent for £175 per week in South London divided opinion after viewers notice a strange layout.
There was a bed above its kitchen cupboards – while it might create bedlam for some – it could be midnight snack perfect for others.
Meanwhile, residents in Glasgow were puzzled after a strange flat was spotted in the west end.
The image shows an extra room jutting out of the first floor into the garden, only supported by two beams.
There is no ground floor room beneath the extension.
Plus, a Manhattan-style flat with an odd feature in the bedroom sparked controversy when it went on the market for £230,000.
At first everything about the flashy flat seemed normal, but something unusual appears to be suspended in the corner.
SOARING RENT PRICES
It comes as the office for National Statistics this week found average rents have soared by £107 per month.
Unwanted private rental moves in England are costing an
eye-watering £550 million per year – with renters shelling out on average £669 in unrecoverable costs for every forced move.
In the last 12 months alone residents had to unwillingly pack their belongings 830,000 times.
Nearly 190,000 were served with a legal eviction notice, while 135,000 were informally asked to go by their landlord.
A ban on hated no-fault evictions is now only expected to apply to less than a tenth tenants before the next general election.
New tenancy contracts will see renters protected from section 21 notices.
But, existing tenancies will have to wait until the Ministry of Justice conducts a review into the “readiness of courts” to handle disputes stemming from the change.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The Renters’ Reform Bill is set to return to the Commons after months of delay next week.
In a separate blow the period by which tenants can end a tenancy has been extended from two to six months, giving landlords more protection.
Ministers must fix England’s broken rental system
By Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter
Moving home is stressful. Every time you move it costs a lot of money. Two hundred quid for a removal van, fifty for packing boxes, hundreds on new furniture, the list goes on. That’s money you never get back.
So, imagine having to move 12 times in 21 years when you didn’t want to? That’s what happened to Natalie, a renter who in the last 18 months was slapped with two no fault evictions – giving her just two months to find a new home and forcing her to fork out yet more cash on moving.
At Shelter we hear from renters all the time who say living in private renting is holding them back in life. Hundreds of thousands of renters are being forced to move home every year when they don’t want to, and it’s costing them millions. That’s money that could be spent on a deposit for a house or saved for the future. It’s not fair, and it shouldn’t be this way.
Landlords shouldn’t be able to kick you out for no reason. The government knows this, and that’s why it’s been promising since 2019 to get rid of no-fault evictions and end fixed term rental tenancies.
Its “landmark” Renters Reform Bill was designed to stop renters like Natalie having to move home so much, while still allowing landlords to get their property back if they have a good reason, like wanting to sell or move family in. But instead, the government has caved to a small number of MPs in its own party – many of them landlords – and left the Bill in tatters. It’s cowardly that the government would rather betray England’s 11 million renters, than stand up to its own MPs.
Without big changes to beef the Bill back up, renters’ lives and their bank balances will carry on being wrecked by unwanted home moves. The government must fix this and deliver a Bill that truly improves the lives of tenants. If they don’t, they will no doubt pay the price at the ballot box come the next election.
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