Why Omaze is giving away London's most expensive council house in a raffle

Shakespeare, social housing, and influencers: What does a prize draw for a Georgian town house near Borough Market say about the state of the capital's property market?

Is an artfully-lit Georgian townhouse near Borough Market following you around the internet?

If you’re a Londoner who has spent any time on social media over the last few weeks, there’s a good chance that adverts for 21 Park Street have been all over your Instagram or Facebook feed. The four bedroom house is described as being worth “over £4.5m” by Omaze, the for-profit company that has become a British cultural phenomenon by giving away properties in an online prize draw.

Omaze’s promotional photograph for the property on Park Street.

Better known as “Take Courage House”, due to the brewery ghost sign on its wall, the “breathtaking” home could be yours by next week — so long as you buy a raffle ticket by Sunday. Encouraged by a legion of paid influencers, it’s expected that more than a million Britons have already entered the competition for the London house.

London Centric estimates around £25m will be spent on tickets for the London house and the odds of winning are, in the most optimistic scenario, around one in 37.5 million — about the same chance as winning the National Lottery jackpot. But behind this very modern chapter in its long life, 21 Park Street is a property that tells the tale of the capital’s complex and changing housing story in a remarkable way.

Just over a decade ago the tenants were very different: this was a council house, allocated for people who were judged to be in need of a place to live. Back then it was a different sort of lottery — the council housing waiting list — that decided who got to live in one of London’s most desirable homes.

In 2013 squatters occupied the property, declaring Southwark council’s decision to sell the house to a property developer as “social cleansing”. The house briefly became a national cause célèbre, prompting soul-searching in national newspapers over London’s council house stock and which people the capital should belong to.

Protestors squatting Omaze’s £4.5m Borough Market house in 2013.

A paid influencer tours Omaze’s £4.5m house this year.

London Centric has spoken to individuals involved in the sale of what has become one of social media’s most famous properties. We wanted to know: How did Omaze end up giving away an ex-council house in a raffle? Is 21 Park Street really worth the £4.5m they claim? And is the politician who authorised the council’s sale of the property now buying Omaze tickets in the hope of winning it for himself?

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This is a members’ only story, filled with details about one of London’s most intriguing homes and the people involved in its sale. If you want to keep reading and aren’t already a London Centric subscriber, either take out a free trial or join now for 25% off.

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