My flat is land locked!

ROX1980

princeofpounds wrote: »

Hi again Rox,


Your buyer is correct not to accept a license. That is not a solution for anyone, for the reasons they give.


As for an easement not being an option for them, there could be many reasons. Their solicitor might believe it is not legally possible. Their mortgage lender might not want to lend unless it is on paper, even if one almost certainly exists by implication. They buyer might not want the simple hassle of dealing with it all. To a certain extent you need to forget about this buyer for a while and deal with the problem you seem to have, although getting a full explanation as quotemiserable says might open up some angles to address.


You will not get the hallway included on your lease, for sure. The freeholder will want to keep that space for the expansion option you talk about. You need to concentrate on asserting (never say establishing - until your assertion fails - because that weakens your case) your easement, and if necessary translating that into writing and the lease.


Just to clarify - this hallway is the only way to access your flat? (by a door I mean, not counting breaking in via windows!).


The reason I believe it is highly likely you do have access to your flat is that a court is likely to judge that when it was sold to you, the intention must have been to give you a right to access your flat, even if that right was not marked down correctly on the paperwork.


So go back and talk to your original solicitor, co-operatively at first, and raise the issue with them. If they pull down the shutters or don't offer a strategy to help, that is when you appoint a new solicitor and consider raising a complaint (because this really may not be their fault, if they couldn't tell there would be a problem).


You might even find that they didn't consider it a problem because of a particular reason, which you don't know about currently. Keep us updated.

Many thanks,

So the easement will be getting asserted with my current solicitors within the next couple of weeks and the aim is to have it written in the deeds for the next perspective purchaser. Hopefully no dramas and the next purchaser is happy with the concept that they will have legal right of access.

The flat has only access via the front door and at the moment as nothing is stated in the lease so we could have to go through the window if we fell out with the management company.

ROX1980

HouseBuyer77 wrote: »

That would be a structural change and require permission of the freeholder.

Still could be an option worth exploring. Perhaps fitting french doors will be cheaper/easier, sounds like your flat isn't really land locked (as in the freeholder if they attempted to block your access via the hall would ultimately find they couldn't) but fully establishing this could take some time and expense.

That would be a nightmare the whole structure is a couple hundred years old! walls are over a foot thick too.

The current owners of the whole building have not been a problem and would not impede access, it's just been the solicitor of the person who was buying it saying an easement is legally not correct for this situation and sole ownership is the onlhy way forward which I do not understand.....I may write to him and ask him why???

I am in the process of getting an easement put into the deeds over the next few weeks which should sort the problem for the next potential purchase I hope

Ulfar

So you are getting an easement put into the deeds, but I may have missed it but what does your lease say about the rights of access via the communal areas.

The communal areas will not be part of your deed but the lease should state what rights of access you have.

ROX1980

Ulfar wrote: »

So you are getting an easement put into the deeds, but I may have missed it but what does your lease say about the rights of access via the communal areas.

The communal areas will not be part of your deed but the lease should state what rights of access you have.

I think it mentions right of access to the communal areas which are located on the otherside of the building which I have never used in 5 years due to my own entrance. I think the solicitors' 5 years ago wen I bought the flat saw communal in the deeds and assumed that the hallway I use was also communal which it isn't. The lease doesn't say anything specific about the hallway I use

Ulfar

The lease states you have rights to access via communal areas, in which case your flat isn't land locked.

Is your real issue the fact that they plan to expand the building and want to use what you may be your private hallway.

ROX1980

Ulfar wrote: »

The lease states you have rights to access via communal areas, in which case your flat isn't land locked.

Is your real issue the fact that they plan to expand the building and want to use what you may be your private hallway.

From what the solicitors have said, the hallway is not a communal hallway as I am the only who can use it, one door from the road tiny little area 2 m x 1.8 m which does not belong to me and one door to the right which is accesss to my flat, no other exits or entries

Hoploz

How is this hallway not considered a communal area? At the moment only you use it but you say others will in future. Are 'communal areas' specifically highlighted on a plan of the block? I think the red line has just been omitted!

ROX1980

Hoploz wrote: »

How is this hallway not considered a communal area? At the moment only you use it but you say others will in future. Are 'communal areas' specifically highlighted on a plan of the block? I think the red line has just been omitted!

I'm no expert but apparently because I have sole use of the door and hallway and no one else does it does not constitute as a communal area. My solicter was even asking me if there was fire extinguishers there or any other doors there to constitute it a a communal area.

The whole block of flats are to the rear of my flat and for all intensive purposes it is self contained. The hallway was never in tehe lease and not in the red hatched area which is fine, but it never got picked up 5 years ago that I had right of access to that specific hallway which I have to cross to get in my flat

Ulfar

I used to live in a block of flats where the roof space was part of the communal areas and the responsibility of the leaseholder, but it could only be reached by a hatch in one of the flats so I don't think that because only you have the use of it automatically makes it yours.

The deeds and lease are what matter. If the red hatched area is your flat and the hallway isn't included then quite clearly it isn't yours.

The issue of access will be detailed in the lease as asked previously, if your lease states you have right of access to communal areas then there is no problem. I would find it strange if the lease did not give you access over communal areas.

Given what has been said the freeholder will expand the building. They will use the hallway you have previously had sole access too and you won't be able to object on the grounds of sole use as you were granted access rights over communal areas which this hallway is part off, the fact you are the only one to use it so far is irrelevant.