Freeholder puts sale in jeopardy over boiler in loft

[Deleted User]

When I bought my flat 4 years ago...the boiler was (and still is) in the loft. Nothing was brought up by the freeholder or EA or solicitors when I was buying it...so obviously I didn't see it as a problem. The boiler and loft conform to all regulations..eg boarded out...hatch...ladder etc. I have a buyer for the flat and solicitors are now under way. Solicitor has contacted me today saying that in the freeholders homeowners pack, they say that I did not have permission to put the boiler in the loft and that the loft is not part of my lease and belongs to the freeholder and are requesting that the boiler is moved elsewhere. This has been passed on to the buyer ! I contacted the freeholder stating that the boiler was in the loft when I bought the flat and that they never mentioned anything then...and that it conforms to all regs. Typically the manager is away on hols until end of May which slows it all up even more. Anyone know where I stand on this ? If I HAVE to move it it will cost...but I will do it to try and keep the sale ongoing !

PasturesNew

The long and short of it will probably come down to the two relevant facts:
- the loft does not and has never belonged to you, or any previous owners.
- the previous owner installed it and probably said nothing to the freeholder, nobody asked questions and your solicitor would have known that the loft doesn't belong to you, but probably didn't have the house details to compare against, or even think to ask/check about a boiler in the loft.

"Who is to blame?" is the question.

Freeholder? No, not if he didn't know it was there.
You? You will end up with the responsibility even though you're not to blame.
Previous owner? No, caveat emptor and all that - once he had your money that's pretty much the end of it probably.
Your solicitor: Grey area - depending on how much the solicitor knew about the property and the boiler location and if asked to check if the loft were demised.

AdrianC

I presume the loft is not actually part of your lease...?

It doesn't matter whether you were informed or not.
It doesn't matter whether it conforms to regs (or, more likely, conformed when fitted).
It doesn't matter whether it was there when you bought or not.

If your boiler is in space that's not yours, you need to move it now that the freeholder IS aware... Or you need their permission. Which, frankly, you're unlikely to get.

G_M

You could ask the freeholder to sell you a lease to the loft or incorporate the loft into your existing lease.

But assuming he agrees (might well not) he'l want paying for the sale.

[Deleted User]

The freeholder is a large company...so most probably will not sell any loft lease. I don't believe my solicitor knew about the boiler being in the loft...anyway I will try and speak to someone at the top of the company on monday and try and get an answer...otherwise this will drag on and on...I can feel it !

AdrianC

Deleted_User wrote: »

I don't believe my solicitor knew about the boiler being in the loft...

Your solicitor, of course, never visited the property.

keithmac

I think we paid £2k for a Bosch combi boiler fitted and all the tanks in the loft removed, ao worste case it will cost you that to keep the sale ongoing.

To me it looks like you don't have any other option..

Thrugelmir

How did the solicitor know the boiler was in the loft? Was this picked up by the buyers surveyor. Or possibly the buyers themselves.

Not the Freeholders issue to resolve. Though they can force you to take action now that they became aware of the fact.

Cakeguts

You have a boiler in part of a building that belongs to someone else. The owner of that part of the building now knows that your boiler is in the part of the building that they own and that you are not entitled to use.

Your solicitor did not see the flat when you bought it. However you must have known that the boiler was in the loft when you bought it or you would have seen is somewhere else in the flat. What you should have done was compared what was included in your lease with what you actually saw in the flat. So if your lease only included the flat area and you did not see a boiler you should have asked either what sort of heating there was or where the boiler was. If you had done this you would have found out that the boiler was in a part of the building that the seller didn't lease.

Did you have a survey done? What did that say? Basically it is up to you to check what you are buying either by looking for yourself or by getting a survey. You can't blame your solicitor for the fact that they didn't know that the boiler was in the loft. The only way they could have found that out is if you had told them.

AnotherJoe

Offer the buyer £2k-3K off and let them get it moved.
Because it's your problem.

[Deleted User]

Cakeguts wrote: »

You have a boiler in part of a building that belongs to someone else. The owner of that part of the building now knows that your boiler is in the part of the building that they own and that you are not entitled to use.

Your solicitor did not see the flat when you bought it. However you must have known that the boiler was in the loft when you bought it or you would have seen is somewhere else in the flat. What you should have done was compared what was included in your lease with what you actually saw in the flat. So if your lease only included the flat area and you did not see a boiler you should have asked either what sort of heating there was or where the boiler was. If you had done this you would have found out that the boiler was in a part of the building that the seller didn't lease.

Did you have a survey done? What did that say? Basically it is up to you to check what you are buying either by looking for yourself or by getting a survey. You can't blame your solicitor for the fact that they didn't know that the boiler was in the loft. The only way they could have found that out is if you had told them.

Yes when I bought the flat I knew the boiler was in the loft...and was told that by seller and EA...unfortunatley I can't find my documents from back in 2012 to corroborate that. I'm only assuming that maybe I didn't read small print regarding the loft but at the time no alarm bells were ringing. My solicitor has found out about the boiler from reading the buyers homepack that was sent to them from the freeholder and the inclusion of the letter expressing concerns over said boiler in the loft.