I live in the World’s smallest council house – it’s gorgeous but I have to give strangers tours whether I like it or not
A WOMAN, who lives in the worlds smallest council house, has revealed that she has to give visitors tours of her property every week.
Fay Laflin, has been living in the 17th century Dutch Cottage, in Raleigh, Essex since 2008.
The property is just 20ft across, and is thought to have been built in 1621 by Dutch settlers, who came to Essex to work on the sea defences.
The octagonal home is a listed building and is thought to be one of only a handful of Dutch cottages still in the UK, and is the only one that is a council property.
Fay pays just £75 a week to live in the adorable thatched cottage, and is ecstatic with her tiny home.
Fay told MailOnline: “It’s compact and bijou but it’s just such a beautiful place to live, it’s really quirky.”
Fay was one of 50 applicants who applied to live in the house, and the council decided that she was most suited to living there.
She said: “I applied for it and hoped to get it. You had to write a letter to say why you wanted to live here.
“I wrote in and said I was only 5ft so I would be well-suited to a small house.
“I don’t think that was the clincher but I’m sure it helped.”
Fay’s house is so tiny, she had to have a special low bed made to fit in the tiny bedroom, which she can only access by climbing a steep ladder.
The 49-year old freelance stage manager revealed that once a week she has to open up her tiny house to visitors.
“It is basically like living in a museum”, she said.
However, she said that she is the perfect tour guide, as surname is Flemish and she is related to 17th century settlers who came to the east of England after facing persecution.
“The Dutch settlers built sea defences on the coast.
“Who knows they may have been here?”, she said.
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