The Johnsons’ 2020 renovation of their current residence at 11 Downing Street came under intense scrutiny after it emerged that Tory donor Lord Brownlow had paid for part of the renovation.
A leaked copy of a job offer obtained by The Independent shows that initial plans for the renovation would have cost a total of more than £200,000. The famous ‘golden’ wallpaper was expected to cost around £2,000 on an estimate of £208,104.
However, the final cost of the project is believed to have been closer to £112,000. The Cabinet has a budget of £30,000 each year for the upkeep of 11 Downing Street. The additional costs associated with the refurbishment have been met by Mr Johnson.
Boris Johnson is comforted by his wife Carrie and their children at 10 Downing Street after announcing his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party
/ Andrew Parsons / No. 10 Downing Street
With the Cabinet Office having paid for some of the work and furnishings, it remains to be seen what Johnson will be able to take with him to his new home when a new Conservative Party leader is announced.
Here are the other properties still owned by the couple that could become the family of four’s next home.
Camberwell, South London
The couple lived in a flat in a restored Grade II listed house overlooking Brunswick Park in Camberwell, south London, when Mr Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019.
A month earlier, neighbors had called the police after reports of a domestic disturbance.
Since the couple have lived there, they have not only grown their family by two – with children Wilfred and Romy, now aged two and seven months respectively – they have also bought a townhouse in the same area.
The four-bedroom house is set over three floors
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On 19 July 2019, the couple paid £1.2 million for the four-bedroom, red-brick Victorian terrace over three floors.
It extends to more than 2,000 square feet, with two reception rooms, four double bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Along with this home in Camberwell, Mr Johnson is believed to have rented out his Oxfordshire property to pay for renovations to a flat at 11 Downing Street
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They revealed their engagement “late 2019” in February 2020, when they also announced they were expecting their first child together.
Mr Johnson is believed to have re-mortgaged and re-let his properties in Camberwell and Tema to pay for the refurbishment of the 11 Downing Street flat.
Teme, Oxfordshire
The Old Farmhouse in Thame, Oxfordshire, is a four bedroom Grade II listed home. A chocolate cottage, the house has a large fireplace, wooden beams and views of the Oxfordshire open countryside. There is also a separate stone outbuilding, tennis court and swimming pool.
The Johnsons have a £1.25m house in Oxfordshire which was let out last year
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The property was bought in 2003 by Boris Johnson and his then wife Marina Wheeler for £640,000.
Mr Johnson was MP for Henley at the time. The couple separated in 2018 and the title of the property was changed to Mr Johnson’s sole name in February 2020, the same month a family court judge granted Ms Wheeler permission to file for divorce.
In February 2020, when the title was changed, the value of the property was listed as £1.25 million.
The Old Farm House went up for rent last April for £4,250 a month, unfurnished, for at least a year.
Boris Johnson outside his home on the Thames in 2018 after his comments about women wearing burqas sparked outrage
/ PA
The lease was agreed in May last year so that, should the tenancy come to an end, the Johnsons could choose to turn the old farmhouse into their country prison if and when they leave Downing Street.
The Thame home is just a 30-minute drive from Checkers – the Prime Minister’s country residence – where Mr Johnson continued his recovery from Covid-19 after being discharged from hospital in April 2020.
Checkers, in Buckinghamshire, the official country residence of the Prime Minister
/ BKP Archive
The 16th-century manor house in Buckinghamshire is a gracious residence used to entertain guests by the Prime Minister during their tenure.
Mr Johnson announced his resignation on July 7 but intends to remain as prime minister until a successor is chosen, a process that could take months.
The Johnsons had planned to throw a lavish party at Checkers on July 30 to celebrate their 2021 nuptials, but reports suggest the party location has been moved following criticism over the choice of venue.
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