What is a "Quarter House"? - Page 3 (2024)

5 January 2021 at 12:50AM edited 5 January 2021 at 12:53AM

Fingerbobs said:

zagubov said:

I've seen examples of these around (but not usually in) London. People use them as starter homes, seem to prefer them to flats as they're freehold, and more home-like. Not spacious, so I'm surprised to see a two-bed example in this thread.
They're often electrically heated.

I rather like the cluster home concept as an alternative to a straight terrace. There are quite a few clusters around my neck of the woods, mostly late 1990s built. They're not all tiny.

I sort of get it myself. Not a gardener and grew up in a city where flats are totally normal, but I can see why flats are undervalued in some places. There's an advantage to having a house with it own entrance and maybe just enough land to sit outside and a parking space, and cluster homes sort of tick those boxes.

Our first house was a semi-detached. Had a (shared) driveway to a small back garden with a reasonable garage.
Utterly loved the house as it was a total TARDIS.

Had two big upstairs bedrooms and a combined bathroom /utility room. We re-jigged the two bedrooms into two bedrooms and a study/nursery. If we'd had our wits about us and maybe more resources, we'd have made it into a house we'd still be living in now and in a great location.

MovingForwards Posts: 17,093 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 10:48AM edited 5 January 2021 at 10:54AM

I contemplated a quarter house, it's effectively a building split into quarters and each is its own little house with private garden / entrance.

The only things that put me off were the size of the kitchen (very compact and only good for having one person in at a time) and the spiral metal staircase to get to the bedroom (I've mobility and health issues).

Had the kitchens been a few feet bigger (galley rather than small square) and a normal staircase, I would have looked at them.

Example of the ones which are in Scotland:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/84931453#/

Ditzy_Mitzy Posts: 1,882 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 11:08AM

We've got quite a few of them in Essex and do refer to them as 'quarter houses', most are late 20th or early 21st century. I used to work with a girl who lived in one, she liked it. They're best thought of as a modified maisonette, rather than a house proper. Typical maisonette style is to split horizontally, with an upstairs and a downstairs owned by separate people and no common parts internally. The quarter or cluster house is a similar idea, however is split vertically with each person owning half of each storey. I believe most are freehold, although things like gardens and parking are communal, maisonette style, so there may be service charges. They aren't quite as efficient, layout wise, as a true maisonette but have the feel of a house rather than a flat.

RelievedSheff Posts: 11,823 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 11:22AM edited 5 January 2021 at 4:24PM

MovingForwards said:

I contemplated a quarter house, it's effectively a building split into quarters and each is its own little house with private garden / entrance.

The only things that put me off were the size of the kitchen (very compact and only good for having one person in at a time) and the spiral metal staircase to get to the bedroom (I've mobility and health issues).

Had the kitchens been a few feet bigger (galley rather than small square) and a normal staircase, I would have looked at them.

Example of the ones which are in Scotland:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/84931453#/

This is an example of a more modern "quarter house" built in 2015.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86149144#/

davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 11:43AM edited 5 January 2021 at 11:57AM

MovingForwards said:

See Also

What Is a Three-Quarter Bathroom? (Plus 3/4 Vs. 1/2 Vs. Full)

Example of the ones which are in Scotland:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/84931453#/

I would have said they're fairly rare in Scotland, much more common are the four-in-a-block or "cottage" flats - all on one floor but with its own front door and usually a private garden e.g.https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/75399486#/
(confusingly those seem to be called "maisonettes" in England, whereas we usually use "maisonette" for duplex flats).

lincroft1710 Posts: 17,921 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 4:07PM

MovingForwards Posts: 17,093 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 4:31PM

No @davidmcn totally different to the upper / lower villa properties, as I was considering one of those too.

Unfortunately I can't remember which part of Lothian's it was I saw them in but they were described as quarter houses, more of an older new build than the local authority type. I will try and have another look and see if I can find one.

MovingForwards Posts: 17,093 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 4:40PM

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86589446.html that's an older version, I'm just going through all my emails to see if I can find the others.

MovingForwards Posts: 17,093 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 4:42PM

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71784760.html

This one @davidmcn

Ditzy_Mitzy Posts: 1,882 Forumite

5 January 2021 at 6:16PM

lincroft1710 said:

As others have said more usually called cluster homes, either 4 x 1 bed, or 3 x 2 bed (2 lengthways, 1 sideways). Very popular in 1980s/1990s but now replaced by apartment blocks.

Looking at them, I can see why the style has fallen out of favour. The staircase simply wastes too much space in the sort of property where maximising the square footage is key. It's probably all right for a single person, but I'd have thought it would feel cramped with a couple.