2 The Home Office reviewed its accommodation requirements in 1996, and concluded that there were deficiencies in its existing estate. By 2002, it occupied three leasehold and three freehold buildings in central London, mostly in poor condition and of inflexible design and internal layout. Although, under the Marsham Street PFI deal, the Home Office will be paying about £6 million more per annum than it had been paying for its existing estate in 2002, it considers that it will be worth paying more for better quality accommodation. Furthermore, the cost of running the estate is rising as a result of its condition and the Home Office has estimated that, in the long term, maintaining its existing accommodation would be more expensive than the PFI deal.