Building an extension on a leasehold property

vikkihardy84

Hi everyone,

This is my first ever attempt at a forum so please bare with me.

I currently have a mortgage on a 1 bedroom ground floor maisonette. I purchased it 7 years ago. I have recently had a baby and would love to put a small extension on the side of the property as an extra bedroom. There is plenty of land to the side that is currently used a long driveway and entrance to the back garden. The property is Leasehold although we pay no ground rent and have exclusive access to the garden and driveway.
How do I go about getting permission from the land owner to have an extension put on?
And what would be the best way to fund it? It has increased by around 40k since purchase so would it be better to remortgage or take out a second mortgage?

eddddy

vikkihardy84 wrote: »

How do I go about getting permission from the land owner to have an extension put on?

Just write to the freeholder, and ask if they will grant permission. (Or are you saying you don't know who the freeholder is.)

vikkihardy84 wrote: »

The property is Leasehold although we pay no ground rent and have exclusive access to the garden and driveway.

If the freeholder says "Yes" that's great. But if they say "No" or they want you to pay them a huge chunk of cash, it gets more complicated.

You have to check your lease to see if the garden is demised to you in the lease, or whether it belongs to the freeholder - and you just have exclusive licence to use it.

The freeholder might also say that you cannot use their building to provide support for your extension.


In short, you're likely to be at the mercy of the freeholder and you might have to negotiate a payment to them.