Flat 1, 174 Lea Road, Wolverhampton, WV3 0LQ

Flat 1 is a one-bedroom mid-terrace house in Wolverhampton (WV3 0LQ). It has a recorded floor area of 40 m² (around 431 sq ft), construction records dating it to 1900-1929 and council tax band A. The latest certificate (December 2020) shows an E (score 45), well below the UK norm with real room to improve. When first surveyed in December 2014 the rating was F, the property has climbed 1 band since. Between certificates, wall efficiency went from Very Poor to Poor, window efficiency went from Very Poor to Good and hot-water efficiency went from Very Poor to Poor. The recommended improvements would lift it to C (score 77), a 2-band jump. Main heating runs on electricity. At 40 m² this is the 2nd smallest of 5 units on EPC record in the building, where floor areas span 39–58 m². The building's EPC ratings span E to C, with this unit at the bottom.

Held since December 1997 — that's 28 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 £119,000 sits 230.6% above the 1997 sale of £36,000. At 40 m² it sits well below the postcode median (70 m² across 62 EPCs), making it one of the more compact homes locally.