17a, North Road, Preston, Brighton, BN1 6SP

17a is a two-bedroom detached house in Preston, Brighton, Brighton (BN1 6SP). It has a recorded floor area of 50 m² (around 538 sq ft), construction records dating it to 1900-1929 and council tax band B. The latest certificate (September 2025) shows an E (score 43), well below the UK norm with real room to improve. When first surveyed in November 2008 the rating was F, the property has climbed 1 band since. Between certificates, wall efficiency went from Very Poor to Poor, roof efficiency went from Poor to Good and window efficiency went from Very Poor to Average; while hot-water efficiency dropped from Poor to Very Poor and main heating dropped from Poor to Very Poor. The recommended improvements would lift it to C (score 75), a 2-band jump. Main heating runs on electricity. At 50 m² this is the 6th smallest of 32 units on EPC record in the building, where floor areas span 45–164 m². The building's EPC ratings span E to B, with this unit at the bottom. On EPC score it ranks last in the building (43 versus a best of 82). Period features are noted in the property record.

Held since April 2001 — that's 25 years off the open market, well above the local norm. Only one transfer is on record with HM Land Registry, suggesting it has stayed in the same hands for a long time. Today's modelled estimate of £248,000 sits 481.3% above the 2001 sale of £42,660. On a £-per-square-foot basis, the last sale (£79/sq ft) was about 80.5% below the postcode norm. At 50 m² it's 26.5% smaller than the typical home in the postcode (68 m² median across 31 EPCs). It lags the bulk of the postcode on energy efficiency (less efficient than 84% of similar EPCs).