Coach house freehold advice!!

Ukkuty

Hi
Im just wondering if anyone had same experiences with this kind of house freehold flat builded above 4 garages which 1 belong to me and the other 3 are leased to neighbours for 999 years!
Question is as I'm owner of the land So what rights do I have if I want to get another garage back and extended to another room ?? Could anybody give some advice if that would be possible or once they have signed lease there is no way ??thank you

ManuelG

You can buy it off them, if you can find a mutually agreeable price.

G_M

Do you really own a "freehold flat"? More likely, the land comprises 6 Land RegistryTitles:

* a freehold which you own
* a leasehold flat which you own
* 4 leasehold garages, and you own 1 of them

correct?

If you wish to convert one of the 3 garages that you do not own, you can buy the lease from whoever owns it.

Offer the current owner of the lease what you think it is worth to you.

If the amount you offer, is the same amount, or greater, than what they think it is worth to them, they are likely to agree to sell.

If it is worth more to them than you offer, they will either refuse, or ask you to increase your offer.

ps - I hope you have read all 5 leases, and fully understand your responsibilities as freeholder eg regarding repairs/maintenance, insurance etc.

Ukkuty

G_M wrote: »

Do you really own a "freehold flat"? More likely, the land comprises 6 Land RegistryTitles:

* a freehold which you own
* a leasehold flat which you own
* 4 leasehold garages, and you own 1 of them

correct?

If you wish to convert one of the 3 garages that you do not own, you can buy the lease from whoever owns it.

Offer the current owner of the lease what you think it is worth to you.

If the amount you offer, is the same amount, or greater, than what they think it is worth to them, they are likely to agree to sell.

If it is worth more to them than you offer, they will either refuse, or ask you to increase your offer.

ps - I hope you have read all 5 leases, and fully understand your responsibilities as freeholder eg regarding repairs/maintenance, insurance etc.

Hi thanks for your respond
Yes im sure that I'm owner of freehold flat with owning a land underneath it as well however those 3 garages are leashold for 999 years and they each pay me 1/8 from my house insurance premium every year !! That was a deal and had to agree before I bought this coach house !! Its really confusing but that why I'm asking for advice if anyone experience same problem !!thank you

giddypenguin

I own a house next door to one of these flats, and lease our garage from them. As has been posted previously- you can only get the garage 'back' if you buy the lease, you would have to negotiate this with the leaseholder. I imagine it would not be cheap as it would probably reduce their house price (which if a mortgage company is involved will not go down well!), be inconvenient and may also reduce how marketable the house is in future.

Although you own the land, for all intents and purposes the garages belong to your leaseholders for 999 years. I very much doubt your extension plans are likely to happen

Ukkuty

Thanks I think you're right especially when its belong to MOD it would be even harder as I don't think they need a money :-) only reasom what makes me thinking to do something about it is because they are absolutely disrespectful and they shouldn't do anything in garage apart using it as storage as it says in lease !! unfortunately not in my case !! Thanks

G_M

Ukkuty wrote: »

Hi thanks for your respond
Yes im sure that I'm owner of freehold flat

OK so the land comprises 5 Land RegistryTitles:

* a freehold flat which you own
* 4 leasehold garages, and you own 1 of them

unusual, and can be legally problematic. Good luck with that!

Its really confusing...

In what way?

I'm asking for advice if anyone experience same problem

very few people will own freehold flats in England, because of the difficulties. However, if the advice you seek relates to aquiring one of the other garages, see my previous advice.

they are absolutely disrespectful and they shouldn't do anything in garage apart using it as storage as it says in lease !!

That is a totally different issue/question.

Enforce the terms of the lease if it is being breached.
* step 1, write explining how they are breaching the lease and instruct them to desist. Refer to the relevant clause.
* step 2, final warning with 10 days to desist or legal action
* step 3, court action

Ukkuty

To be fair I can't really see what's problematic that could be because technically it's not flat it's coach house ( detached building where im own everything on it included roof,bricks and also land underneath I can do whatever I want with it exactly same like any other detached house and legaly have acces to garages when I need it! What's exactly different between house and flat then ? I thought its fact in flat you not own the land or anything above it ?Am I right? Coach houses are very popular in last couple years and I can see them everywhere only downside is those garages but personally I'm prefered have my own freehold property better than have leashold flat and pay rent and service charges to someone else?I very much appreciated to every opinion here it's very helpful to understand a lot things which I didn't have clue thank you

getmore4less

Who owns the land in front of the garages.

What are the parking allocations in the area as that would have been part of the planning for the development

On my previous place each garage also had allocated parking in front so the properties with garages had two parking spaces

The issue then become planning as once you start converting garages the site looses parking.

anselld

Ukkuty wrote: »

they are absolutely disrespectful and they shouldn't do anything in garage apart using it as storage as it says in lease !! unfortunately not in my case !! Thanks

If the leaseholders are acting in breach of the lease then it is your right as freeholder to take the appropriate enforcement action.

Annisele

Ukkuty wrote: »

What's exactly different between house and flat then ?

The important difference here isn't between a flat and a house - it's between freehold and leasehold.

A freehold flat (or coach house) is extrememly unusual. You might have one, but if it's been built relatively recently I suspect a mistake on your part as to what you own. Freehold flats, freehold coach houses, and freehold "anything that is supported by some other building underneath it" cause all kinds of legal problems. That means mortgage lenders don't like them one bit.

If you've bought within the last few years, and if you have a mortgage, then I'd be absolutely astonished if you really do just own the one freehold. I think GM's suggestion that you own the freehold of the whole building as well as the lease to your individual flat is more likely.

Broadly, if you want to do something with land that somebody else has leased, you usually need to have:

• Their permission; or
• A legal right to do it (and if you're the freeholder, that right might come from their lease - read it!); or
• To buy the lease off them.

(You may need other things as well, like planning consents.)


In your shoes, I'd start by making absolutely certain that I owned what I thought I owned. Perhaps you could check your flat on the Land Registry (if in England/Wales), pay £3, and see if you actually do have a lease?