2 flats, only 1 of them freehold

donjay_2

I own a ground floor leasehold flat. There is only one other flat in the building. The upstairs flat is owned by the person who owns the freehold to the building. He has advertised his flat as having a share of the freehold. I thought both flats had to be either leasehold or freehold, or am I missing something?

ormus

nope. he has part freehold, and the owner of your freehold has the other part.
when your leasehold runs out, your freeholder will regain/retain the property.

G_M

The upstairs flat is owned by the person who owns the freehold to the building

He has advertised his flat as having a share of the freehold.

These 2 statements contradict each other. See below.

I thought both flats had to be either leasehold or freehold, or am I missing something?

Each flat is held by their purchaser on a lease (ie leasehold). The freehold is a separate legal entity. It may be owned outright by either of you, might be owned jointly between you, or indeed could be owned by someone else completely. From what you say, it is wholly owned by the guy upstairs. From what he says, it is owned by you both jointly.

To check, go to the Land Registry website, pay £4.00 and instantly download the title for the freehold at the address (NOT one of the leaseholds which will also be listed on the LR!)

donjay_2

Thanks all for the input. Let me clarify (I did download the leasehold and freehold information some time ago) the freeholder of the building also holds the lease to the upstairs flat. I hold the lease to the downstairs flat.

It seemed to me that he was selling off the freehold to one of the flats without consulting me, is that how it should work?

G_M

donjay wrote: »

Thanks all for the input. Let me clarify (I did download the leasehold and freehold information some time ago) the freeholder of the building also holds the lease to the upstairs flat. I hold the lease to the downstairs flat.

It seemed to me that he was selling off the freehold to one of the flats without consulting me, is that how it should work?

He owns the leasehold to one of the flats. He has chosen to sell it.

He also owns the freehold to the building. He has chosen to sell it.
He is not "selling off the freehold to one of the flats" he is selling the freehold of the building.

I don't understand the problem. Your lease on your flat is unaffected. You will, however, have a new freeholder to deal with.

donjay_2

Ah, thanks for that view, G_M. The ad didn't mention the freehold to the whole building but that makes sense.

Fire_Fox

Normally when a freehold is sold, the leaseholders must be offered the right to buy and you need a majority to agree. Not sure if this applies when the freehold is being sold with the lease from the only other flat, but find out here:
http://www.lease-advice.org/publications/