Some Brent Council tenants will wave goodbye to cramped living conditions just in time for Christmas, thanks to an initiative to reduce overcrowding in the borough.
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Work has begun on 50 properties, managed by Brent Housing Partnership (BHP), to create a loft conversion or extension giving overcrowded council tenants much needed extra living space.
All the homes selected for development were taken from the transfer list because they were registered overcrowded.
But a cash award of £1.5m from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is being used to tackle the very serious problem of overcrowding for families - especially those needing three bedrooms or more.
The first sets of properties currently undergoing a resize are due to be finished this December - in time for a comfortable and more spacious Christmas.
The average time to complete the works is eight weeks but works in the loft causes little disruption to the homeowners.
Cllr James Allie, Lead Member for Housing, said: "The council is committed to targeting overcrowding and finding solutions to this London-wide problem as a key priority. We believe that priority should be given to developing larger units to meet the needs of those applying for housing. The provision of larger units will have a particularly positive impact on Black and Minority Ethnic applications."
BHP is Brent Council's delivery partner - carrying out the work to improve these properties.
BHP's Director of Technical Services Gerry Doherty said: "With such a shortage of space to build in London it makes sense to try and adapt our existing housing stock to better suit the needs of our families in the borough."