16 Flats in a Former Methodist Church: A Leeds Conversion Goes to Auction at £475,000

• A former Methodist church on Trentham Street, Leeds, has been converted into 16 one-bedroom flats
• It was due to be auctioned on September 9 with a guide price of £475,000
• The auctioneer estimated about £125,000 a year in rent if each flat let for £650 a month
• It was offered with vacant possession

A former Methodist church in Leeds that has been divided into 16 one-bedroom flats is going under the hammer, the Yorkshire Post reported in August 2026. The building on Trentham Street was due to be auctioned on September 9 with a guide price of £475,000.

James Pank, director and auctioneer of Auction House West Yorkshire, pointed to its investment potential. “Properties such as this really don’t come along very often. Obviously, the building is beautiful externally, but the real potential comes from the income that could be generated once the 16 flats have been tidied up and re-let,” he said.

According to Pank, if each flat let for £650 a month, the building could earn about £125,000 a year.

The property was being sold with vacant possession, so a buyer could refurbish the flats to their own standard and then either manage the tenancies directly or lease the whole building to a housing association, charity or care provider on a longer-term arrangement.

For investors, including Jamaicans in the UK and those at home considering buy-to-let, the Leeds sale shows the economics of a church already converted into flats: the conversion risk has been taken, and the value lies in rental income. On those figures, the gross yield at the guide price would be well over 20 per cent before costs, though refurbishment, management and voids would reduce it. The same logic, converting large church buildings into many small homes, could be applied to surplus church property in Jamaican towns where rental demand is strong.

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