Property Dossier · Share of freehold
Share-of-freehold flat · Hoxton
Hoxton, Hackney, London · N1 · 2-bed, 2-bath first-floor flat in a Grade II* Georgian townhouse converted into five flats · 979 sq ft
Tenure
Share of freehold~999 yrs, no ground rent
Council tax
Band EHackney, ~£2,404
EPC
E (41)potential only D
Nearest station
Old Streetshort walk, Northern line
6.7/10
Overall verdict
Pros
- Genuinely rare heritage A Grade II* Georgian survival in Hoxton, restored with real care. Only about 2.5% of listed buildings carry that grade, and there is precisely one of these on the square.
- Very good ownership terms You own a share of the building alongside the other flat owners, on a lease of roughly 999 years with no ground rent and a service charge near £1,000. That is a strong combination.
- Prime, walkable location Old Street, Hoxton Overground and Liverpool Street all on foot, with the City, Shoreditch and the creative and tech employers on the doorstep.
- Outside the congestion charge zone The boundary sits just south of here, so no daily charge for driving to and from home.
- Garden square outlook, south facing The council refurbished the square in 2023 with new planting, paving and benches. Good light for a first floor.
- Strong tenant demand and scarce competition Professional tenants, and no large development nearby producing hundreds of rival flats.
Cons
- EPC E, and it cannot reach C majorThe certificate puts the best achievable rating at D (68) even after every recommended measure. From 2030 rented homes are expected to need C, so this looks like an exemption case rather than a fixable one.
- Grade II* listing restricts everything majorListed since 1950. Almost any change inside or out needs formal consent on top of normal planning. Good for protecting the character, awkward and slow if you want to alter anything.
- A 300-year-old building costs money to keep Roof, brickwork, sash windows and that heavy cornice all fall due eventually, and specialist work on a listed building costs more.
- No lift, no parking, no outdoor space First floor walk-up in a permit-controlled area. It narrows the pool of future buyers.
- First floor, close to the noise Lower light than the upper flats and nearer the street. There are bars, a basement club and pubs within a couple of hundred yards.
- The price has already fallen a long way Down from £995,000 in April, which tells you the market has not accepted the original figure.
This is a special building and the story sells itself, which is exactly why it needs a cool head. The ownership terms are excellent, the location is hard to beat, and scarcity of this kind does tend to hold its value. Against that, the energy certificate is the real problem: the assessor puts the ceiling at D even after every suggested improvement, and the one measure that would move the needle most, replacing the single glazed sashes, is the one a Grade II* listing is least likely to allow. Add a maintenance bill that a £1,000 service charge cannot plausibly cover, no lift or parking, and the fact that no flat here has ever sold, so there is no evidence of what it is worth. Buy this as a home you love, at a price that reflects the energy and upkeep problems, and not as an income investment.
Buyer's due-diligence checklist
Ownership and running costs
Who actually controls the building
The five flat owners own the building through a company, which was only set up in February 2026, shortly before the flats were marketed. Ask what that company owns, whether you receive a share of it, who owns the other four flats, and whether the developer still holds several. If one party holds the majority, you get very little say over what gets spent.
Test the £1,000 service charge properly
It is remarkably low for a listed Georgian building and covers insurance, cleaning and shared repairs. It will not fund a new roof, repointing or sash window overhauls. Ask for three years of accounts, the savings pot balance, and any planned major works. On a building like this, one big job can mean a five figure bill per flat.
Insurance and the missing sale history
Insuring a Grade II* building costs noticeably more, so check what the policy covers and whether the rebuild valuation is current. Also note that no flat here has ever been sold, so there is no price evidence. That is a risk when you buy and again when you sell, because the next buyer's valuer faces the same blank page.
The building
Use a listed-building surveyor
Not a standard survey. The building had water ingress and decay before restoration, so ask specifically about damp history, the roof, drainage, timber and brickwork, and any insurance claims.
Get the consents on paper
Ask the seller's solicitor to confirm that the layout and all alterations in this flat were properly consented, with copies of the approved drawings and sign-off. Do not accept reassurance that a well-known designer did the work.
Price the energy work realistically
Internal wall insulation alone is quoted at £7,500 to £11,000 and still leaves you at E. Get a quote from someone who works on listed buildings, and ask whether secondary glazing would be permitted.
Around the square
Stand outside at 11pm
Bars, a basement club and pubs sit within a couple of hundred yards, and the windows are original single glazed sashes. Visit on a Friday and Saturday night, plus a weekday morning.
What is being built nearby
A large scheme is proposed close by, with offices and homes up to ten storeys. Planning documents specifically require it to consider this building's setting, so check the effect on light, privacy and outlook.
Check lending early
Some lenders are cautious about Grade II* buildings and small self-managed blocks. Worth confirming before you spend money on surveys.
Est. fair value · Aug 2026
£850k–£900k
Now asking £895,000, down from £995,000 in April
about £914 per sq ft. No flat in this building has ever sold
Est. market rent£3,300–£3,600 pcm
Gross · net (est.)≈ 4.6% · 3.3 to 3.6%
Apr 2026
First listed
£995,000
Jun 2026
Relisted, second agency
£950,000
Jul 2026
Reduced again, now asking
£895,000
Sale history
Never traded, no price record
none
The flat
Ownership share of freehold
You own part of the building with the other four flat owners, on a lease of roughly 999 years with no ground rent. No outside landlord taking a cut.
Service charge £1,000, check it
Very low for a listed building. Covers insurance, cleaning and shared repairs, but almost certainly not big future jobs.
Council tax
Band E, Hackney, roughly £2,404 a year.
Energy rating E (41)
Assessed June 2026, valid to 2036. Solid brick with no insulation, single glazed windows, electric underfloor heating and immersion hot water, all rated very poor. Running costs put at £2,458 a year.
Size and position
91 m² (979 sq ft), two bedrooms, two bathrooms, first floor with flats above and below. South facing over the square.
Heritage Grade II*
Listed since 1950. The conversion into five flats took four planning attempts and was done with the heritage body involved. Protects the character, restricts what you can change.
The area · Hoxton N1
- Old Street short walk
- Hoxton walk
- Liverpool Street walkable
The square itself
A quiet, tree-covered residential pocket that the council refurbished in 2023. A low traffic scheme cut vehicles in the area by about 46%.
Noise test it
Bars, a basement club and pubs all within a couple of hundred yards, plus office buildings on the square bringing weekday footfall. Single glazed sashes offer little protection.
Crime high locally
About 519 crimes per 1,000 residents, roughly 80% above the local average and second highest of 36 nearby areas, with theft from the person most common. Figures near nightlife are inflated by visitor numbers, but it still affects tenants and resale.
Market
The postcode is down about 9% over ten years and the building around 10.5%. Rents have risen. Treat it as scarcity value, not a rising market.
Verify before you offer
1
The energy ceiling
Best achievable is D, not C. Get advice on whether an exemption is the realistic route, and what it does to future resale.
2
Who owns the other four flats
If one party holds the majority of the building company, you have little say over spending.
3
Three years of accounts and the savings pot
A £1,000 charge on a listed Georgian building needs explaining. Budget for large one-off bills.
4
Specialist survey and lending
Use a listed-building surveyor given the damp history, and confirm your lender is comfortable early.
Where the price sits
At £895,000 you are paying about £914 per sq ft, against roughly £1,016 at the original asking price. The seller has come down £100,000 since April and changed agency along the way, which is real leverage. There is no sale history for any flat in the building, so nobody can point to a comparable, and the buyer pool is narrow. Somewhere around £850,000 to £880,000 looks like the sensible target, and lower again if the energy and maintenance work prices up badly.
Even after internal wall insulation, draught proofing, a heat recovery system and replacing the single glazed windows, the certificate still puts this flat at D. The measure that helps most is the one the listing is least likely to permit.
From the energy certificate, June 2026
Parking
No space comes with the flat and the streets around the square are permit controlled, where a permit still does not guarantee somewhere to park. Less of an issue for a professional tenant who does not drive, more of one for a family buyer later.