Dorset’s biggest private landlord has turned another of its ‘houses of multiple occupancy’ (HMOs) into self-contained flats as it continues to remodel its housing stock to meet local need.
DWP Housing Partnership invested £350,000 in the Westbourne property in Norwich Avenue West that now has 11 flats rather than multiple rooms with shared facilities.
In the last two years, the company has converted 75 bedsits and rooms housing over 100 tenants into self-contained units.
There is a growing number of local workers looking for homes and DWP is adapting its stock to supply that demand.
The accommodation brings newly refurbished self-contained rental properties into the reach of modest wage earners, enabling them to find a property without all the exorbitant costs of using an agency.
The remodelling of its HMOs is running alongside DWP’s continued investment in brand new developments.
These include the new block in Christchurch Road in Boscombe where more than 50, one and two-bed apartments are being built.
No tenants have been left without a home during this rolling programme of improvement which is set to continue.
Steve Wells from DWP said: “We are committed to updating our housing stock and turning HMOs into self-contained flats or back into houses.
“We are looking at the long-term future because it is better for ourselves and our clients if they stay longer in our properties, and we are encouraging this by providing the accommodation people want.
“Although the number of tenants we can accommodate in our remodelled HMOs will of course decrease, we are making up for that by building brand new purpose-built flats.
“The demand for our properties has never been greater and over the last five years we have invested more than £20m in new developments and millions more converting our HMOs.”
Pic caption: Steve Wells at the property in Norwich Avenue West.
Notes for Editors:
DWP Housing Partnership was established as Dave Wells Properties in 1985. The company, which has its headquarters in St Clement’s Road, Boscombe, owns properties across Dorset and Hampshire and houses over 3,000 tenants.
The business currently has other new developments under construction in the Bournemouth and Poole area and plans for several more in the future.
Steve Wells sits on a number of national panels, advising on the best ways to regenerate run-down areas and working to make sure Bournemouth remains a great place to live and work. He’s also a member of the National Landlords Association (NLA) and the British property Federation (BPF).
For more information contact Ed Baker, account director at Deep South Media, on 01202 534487 or 07788392965.
