I pay just £200 a week to live like a billionaire in a luxury flat in hugely sought-after location – here’s how

Kwame Agyekum, 34, a business management officer for the House of Commons, rents a one-bedroom flat in a new luxury development where apartments fetch up to £35million.

(Kwame Agyekum, 34, rents a one-bedroom flat in the Millbank Quarter projectCredit: You Tube/Berkeley Group)

(Agyekum pays only £862.42 a month in rent because his flat is one of 13 affordable homesCredit: You Tube/Berkeley Group)

Millbank Residences, constructed between 1927 and 1929 and now a Grade II listed building, overlooks "the Houses of Parliament and the River Thames".

Within the Millbank Quarter property, one-bedroom flats are going for £1.75million, while studio apartments smaller than Agyekum’s flat are advertised for £3,350 a month.

Agyekum, who earns £34,500 a year, pays only £862.42 a month in rent because his flat is one of 13 affordable homes out of almost 200 apartments at the scheme.

The developer, Berkeley Group, was granted planning permission by Westminster city council on the condition it would provide for working Londoners under a section 106 agreement.

Agyekum told the Guardian: “The rent on the open market around here would be way more than all my salary a month.

“I’m very, very, very fortunate to not only have an affordable rent scheme, but in such an incredible location and in such an incredible building. So I yeah, I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Agyekum, who grew up in Hammersmith, said there was "no way at all" he could live in central London without the affordable housing, which are owned by affordable housing charity Dolphin Living.

He also described how his mother asks him if he is living in a luxury hotel when she visits.

Agyekum said: “When she first came over she was like: ‘This does not feel like someone’s house. Are you sure it’s not a hotel?”’

A Section 106 sets out the planning obligations between a local council and developers.

Section 106 refers to section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, according to the government’s website.

Developers can contribute towards the necessary infrastructure via the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is a fixed charge levied on new development to fund infrastructure, such as public roads, pavements and lighting.

While the development has 13 affordable homes, the original committee report set out that the developer was required to provide 25 per cent affordable housing, which roughly equates to 105 units or £32million as a financial payment in lieu.

A council spokesperson said: "The Council changed control in May 2022 and this application was granted under the previous administration.

"The planning committee at that time accepted the developer’s viability assessment and its conclusion that the requirement for on-site affordable housing could not be delivered and therefore received a cash-in-lieu payment.

"Looking forward, we believe it’s vital to provide affordable homes in central London for the key workers that do the vital jobs that make our city a success.

(Millbank Residences was constructed between 1927 and 1929 and now a Grade II listed buildingCredit: You Tube/Berkeley Group)

(Within the Millbank Quarter property, one-bedroom flats are going for £1.75millionCredit: You Tube/Berkeley Group)

Ref: I pay just £200 a week to live like a billionaire in a luxury flat in hugely sought-after location – here’s how (thesun)