splitting a house into two flats,, help please

Georgebrocklebank

Hi, I brought a house a couple of years ago at an auction (its a house turned into 2 flats).
It's been that way for the last 25 years as the same tennant came with the sale.
I want to sell the upstairs flat but leave him in the bottom one, is this possible?
Each flat has its own boilers & separate water feeds, Gas & electricity meters & two council tax bills (one for each flat).
I don't think it had planning permission as when I brought it the auctioneer came on the phone & told me I wasn't buying two flats but one house with two flats in.
I'm just a bit confused how I would get new deeds to sell the top flat?
Any help or advice would be great-fully appreciated.
Kind regards,
George.

HampshireH

I can't help you but this sounds very complicated and I am interested in the advice you get. Someone will come along shortly with the knowledge.

Georgebrocklebank

Also when I do a search on Google both rightmove & zoopla have them listed as two flats.

davidmcn

You'll first want to clarify what the planning position actually is, and what the titles say (didn't anybody advise you at least by the stage you completed the purchase?). Creating separate titles is a solicitor job (or a very steep learning curve!).

eddddy

This is quite a far-reaching question. I guess that judging by the way you're asking the question, you're not very familiar with property law, planning law etc - so you might need to spend quite a bit of money on advice from a specialist solicitor.

But briefly...

Yes - you can create a lease for one of the flats and (attempt to) sell it.

Whether anyone will buy it will be dependent on many factors, including:

- the quality of the conversion
- whether it is mortgageable
- whether it has planning consent or a certificate of lawfulness
- the terms of the lease you create
- the condition of the building
etc

Georgebrocklebank

Hi, titles say one house (but I new that already).
Just wanted to no if it's possible to separate, what's the first step?
Is it going to a solicitor?
Is it an easy thing to do?

Sorry for all the questions,

George.

Georgebrocklebank

Thanks Eddie, the two flats & building are great.
Do I need a certificate of lawfulness before I get the lease created?

Kind regards,

George.

eddddy

Georgebrocklebank wrote: »

Do I need a certificate of lawfulness before I get the lease created?

No - you can create a lease for any property.

In fact, I could get a lease created for the cupboard under my stairs as a flat - without any certificate of lawfulness.

But realistically, no mortgage lender would lend on it, and I would probably never get a certificate of lawfulness, and nobody would ever buy it as a flat.

So more generally, getting a lease created isn't any indication that you could ever sell the flat.

Georgebrocklebank

So if I get a 125 year lease sorted & put the flat on the market what would stop people getting a mortgage on it?
Surly once people view it & as long as the survey was ok (is that not all I have to worry about?)

Kind regards,

George

davidmcn

Depends what else the lease says.
Why only a 125 year term?
Who's going to have the freehold?
Are there any issues with the title?
That sort of thing.

Georgebrocklebank

Cheers David,,

I just thought 125 years was the done thing (I'll make it longer if it encourages buyers)
I suppose I'll have the freehold until I sell the bottom flat (then try & sell it to one of the flats when the bottom one has gone).
& what do you mean issues with the title?

Thanks again,

George.