Fixtures and fittings in leasehold flat

Mike_Norwich

I would expect the purchase price to reflect the state of the property when I bought it which might well include investments made by the previous owner or owners. But in my mind I would be buying the kitchen from the seller, I would then own it and I would be responsible for it. I wouldn't have an expectation that the landlord would replace it in the event of a fire for example. This is precisely the risk that I want to insure.

Do you happen to know whether tenants improvement insurance would be limited to work that I have had done or would also cover improvements made my previous owners?

eddddy

Mike_Norwich said:

 Are you saying that in law the landlord owns these items even though I bought and paid for them? 

(You should quote the post that you're replying to - to make the thread easier to follow.)

If the freeholder supplied a fitted kitchen and bathroom as part of the original lease, they are owned by the freeholder - and you  would be responsible for maintaining and repairing them, and leaving them behind when the lease ends.

But realistically, if you have replaced them with a newer kitchen and bathroom of the same or better quality, you could leave those behind instead.

Sandtree said:

To put it another way, when you bought the lease did you expect the previous leaseholder to remove the bathroom and kitchen etc before you moving in? Or did you expect them all to still be there when you moved in despite the fact the previous leaseholder may have replaced them all themselves? If the place had a fantastic new kitchen full of built in Miele appliance would you have expected to pay the previous leaseholder more for it than if the kitchen was falling apart and the appliances were all 20 years old?

I'm not sure how that's relevant to the question about insurance.

Sandtree

eddddy said:
I'm not sure how that's relevant to the question about insurance.

Its answer the same question you did which wasn't about insurance (as your answer wasn't either - was about how leasehold works)

Mike_Norwich

We seem to be drifting off topic. These properties were originally leased in 1975 and have subsequently been sold on multiple occasions with no further involvement on the part of the freeholder. Nobody buying a property now would be able to tell what it was like when it was first leased. I have been told that in the event of a fire the freeholder would only be responsible for restoring the fabric of the building and not for the fixtures and fittings. Maybe that is wrong - maybe they would have to restore it to something like its 1975 condition. But they would most certainly not be required to restore it to its current condition.

The issue at hand is how do I set about insuring the value that has been added by successive owners over the last 45 years?