Brighton and Hove

Want to own one of Hove’s rainbow-doored beach huts? First, you’ll need to be a Brighton & Hove resident. Then fork over £25,000 to £35,000. Then follow the rules: paint the roof and upper sides in exactly BS 4800 14 C35 Gloss every two years, keep the plinth in BS 4800 04 D45 Gloss, and, here’s your creative freedom, choose any color for the doors, solid or vertically striped. No sleeping, no business, no amplified music. Just some 470 tiny wooden rectangles of seaside joy, lined up since the 1930s, each one a prized possession often passed down through families.

The huts replaced the bathing machines and bathing tents that once crowded Hove beach, and by 1939 there were 473 of them on the promenade. Demand outstripped supply, so in 1947 Hove Council allocated them by lucky dip. In August 1982, tenants were invited to buy their huts for £100. The dimensions haven’t moved since. The huts measure 1.83 meters wide by 1.83 meters deep, with a ridge height of 2.46 meters, and no variations are permitted. The council inspects every hut early each year. Owners who skip repairs or painting can lose their licence and have their hut removed at their own expense. Since the 2024 licence, sellers also pay the council 10 percent of the sale price or four times the licence fee, whichever is greater. When one owner painted his door in circles, the council ordered a regulation repaint. Stripes are permitted. Circles are not.