Freehold House with Leasehold Garage - potential problem?

ShivasPlace

I have read a few threads on here about people buying and selling freehold houses with leasehold garage, but none that address this issue…

We are buying a freehold house with a leasehold garage that is situated under a number of flats. Everything has been above board and we have been informed by the seller that there is no ground rent, no service charge, peppercorn rent and 100-odd years left on the lease. Things we going smoothly and we are all ready to exchange but it seems that the owner of the garage has recently sold the building - holding everything up.

Now… can the new garage owner change the terms of the lease so that we might have to pay things like services charges?

There is also the question of insurance that the seller nor the previous garage owner knew the answer to - in that; who insures the garage and who pays?

Not sure what to expect so any advice on this is welcome!

hazyjo

I had this set-up with my last house. Two garages under a flat.


They are usually linked though. Perhaps this was just done under a private agreement? Or did the garage actually come as part of the original house sale? I'm guessing your house has been built within the last 15 or so years.


We had to pay insurance for the garages and service charge for the estate.


Not sure if that helps you or not - I'm very surprised yours don't appear to be linked in any way and am inclined to think it was merely a private arrangement.


Jx

Richard_Webster

Now… can the new garage owner change the terms of the lease so that we might have to pay things like services charges?

Why should he be able to - if the lease is for 100 or so years?

I am assuming here that the freeholder is the owner of the coachhouse flat above the garages.

As to insurance the lease will say what is to happen - the new freeholder will probably have to insure and give you details of it - you may have to contribute - it will all set be down in the lease terms. Your solicitors should have acopy of the lease.

These coach houses with garages under cause problems because the owner of the flat above the garages often doesn't appreciate that he is a landlord and has responsibilities as such, so in practice he sometimes won't comply with the terms of the leases and may not understand that he has to give information about things like insurance.

If the freeholder is some propertty management company or their agents then the likelihood is that everything will be done properly, but you may be stuck with some unreasonable admin charges

AdrianC

ShivasPlace wrote: »

Now… can the new garage owner change the terms of the lease so that we might have to pay things like services charges?

Not unilaterally - not for another 100-odd years. You have a contract that's binding on both sides. The owner of one side of that contract has sold that on to somebody else, but the contract itself remains unchanged.

There is also the question of insurance that the seller nor the previous garage owner knew the answer to - in that; who insures the garage and who pays?

The lease doesn't say anything?

ShivasPlace

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, the was house built 5-6 years ago. Garage not physically linked to the house we are purchasing, but to the flats above that are situated at the end of our garden. Yes, it was included in the original house sale in 2011. Owner of the flats above is the freeholder - but doesn't live there.

If the lease does have the insurance information on it, then maybe my solicitor hasn't got it yet if it has been transferred to the new garage owner's solicitors. But should my seller or his solicitor have a copy? I will ask my guy this tomorrow.

Richard W - It could be the case that the previous owner of the flats and garage didn't realise he was the landlord of the garage as well. It sounds like the owners of the house thought to was their responsibility to insure it or probably assumed it came under their house insurance (which as I understand it, it won't). So maybe the garage hasn't technically been insured for years and it's only the two purchases that have bought it to light.

Adrian C - I didn't realise that the leasehold agreement couldn't be altered by one party (new to this leasehold thing!) - but assumed it would be the case. Just making sure that the 'owner' couldn't change the terms if it was just an agreement between the previous owners rather than a contract.