FreeHolder Lives Downstairs - Can He Deamnd To Renovate Building And Share Costs?

Joey122

Does anyone know how leaseholds work ??

Can the freeholder decide to paint / renovate the building and charge me accordingly? Are there any rights I have?

Buying the freehold is not an option I am afraid

G_M

Your first port of call should be to examine your lease and see what it says about maintenance charges and repairs. If you don't have a copy, ask the solicitor you used when you purchased....or the freeholder.

Your second call should be the Leasehold Advisory Service.

KiKi

Yes. In very simplistic terms:

The freeholder - who may live in the property, own one of the flats or premises, or may have nothing to do with them at all - owns the land the building is on. They have responsibilities for communal areas of the building, such as the outside walls, communal gardens, communal hallways, roof and some interior structures such as pipework in between floors etc.

A leaseholder is someone who buys a flat or part of the premises, and leases their flat from the freeholder for a period of time, often 999 years, 125 years, something like that. They are responsible for the inside of the property such as walls, decor, windows, interior doors, their own boiler etc.

The lease is the contract between the two. It stipulates how much the leaseholder will pay towards any maintenance or upkeep (eg, 20% of all annual costs). Usually there is a monthly, quarterly or 6 monthly contribution for general maintenance, then additional payments to be made if a big piece of work needs to be done. It also stipulates anything from which pets you may or may not keep, how often you are required to decorate the flat, and whether or not you can make any changes to the flat. Mostly you cannot make any structural changes (like adding in a door) without the freeholder's permission.

Quite simply if work needs to be done on the outside or communal areas of the building, the freeholder will get quotes for it, and then you will have to pay. You have some rights as a leaseholder, but if work needs to be done you have to pay. That is the downside of being a leaseholder without owning a share of the freehold - lack of control of costs.


I hope that helps, but if you want a comprehensive list of all legal rights then do a google search or look on the lease advisory service website, or speak to a solicitor for proper advice.

KiKi