Freeholder of flats

zoe19

Hi,I am the owner of two first floor flats in a block of four. These two flats also own the freehold of the grounds and the two leasehold flats on the ground floor.
If I wanted to convert the roofspace into one or two individual flats and sell them,do I have to ask permission from the leaseholders and are they entitled to any share of the monetary gain?
Also,as the flats stand on a large plot,there is a wasted area of land that I could develop. The same question applies.
Thank you

egoode

You won't need the leaseholders permission to convert the roofspace. However you will need to check the lease they have about developing the land as it may be part of their lease and therefore you wouldn't be able to develop it. If the land is part of their lease you might be able to negotiate with them to buy the lease on the land back from them.

princeofpounds

The flats you own almost certainly do not own the freehold. Rather you own the freehold and you own the leaseholds of the two flats.

Your ability to further develop the site will depend upon the leases you, as freeholder, have awarded to the other leaseholders. They may constrain you.

The roofspace is probably ok, but developing the garden will be hard if the other leaseholders have rights to the use of that garden, as that will conflict.

zoe19

Thanks for that. The two flats I own are both Freehold and it is a weird set up where the land is divided diagonally with a first floor and a ground floor flat on each piece of land!Part of the land I want to develop is owned by the leaseholder who is in agreement with developing and will obviously benefit financially from this as well myself.
The other half of the land is not involved, but could he object if the whole plot will now be smaller,with the view that his own flat could be worth less? Possibly,but would it be relevant to the Planning Dept.?
The grounds/gardens are not shared. Each flat has its own piece of garden.

princeofpounds

The two flats I own are both Freehold

Whilst there is a slim chance this is the case, it's much more likely that you don't understand the difference between a freehold and a leasehold, and why the distinction is important.

Part of the land I want to develop is owned by the leaseholder who is in agreement with developing and will obviously benefit financially from this as well myself.

The leaseholder does not own any land. They own the lease on a land.

could he object if the whole plot will now be smaller,with the view that his own flat could be worth less?

There may be planning reasons he could object, to the planning department. There may be lease reasons he could object, in court. The flat being worth less is unlikely to be a ground to object in either forum.

I suggest you talk all this through with a solicitor before going to planning, so you get all the details right.

zoe19

Thanks,I will get an appointment with a solicitor who is a "freehold/lease" expert.